Sleepover
by CleoArrow
Summary: At a sleepover, Raven, Starfire, Jinx, and Bumblebee all agree to take their "relationships" to the next level. What will happen? Main Raven/Beast Boy with Robin/Starfire, Cyborg/Bumblebee and a bit of Kid Flash/Jinx.
1. Pillow War

**Welcome everybody! This story is a result of my voting poll, and I hope you all enjoy it. The time is set after Trouble in Tokyo. **

* * *

"Do you seriously think I will agree to something like that?" Raven asked, staring at Starfire with disbelief. The dark girl was sitting on the couch with a book in hand, her alien friend floating in front of her with pleading emerald eyes. A few feet to her right, Cyborg and Beast Boy were pounding on their video game controllers while Robin prepared himself a snack in the kitchen. It was a warm day in early October, and, like any other typical teenagers during nice weather, the Teen Titans were spending it inside.

Starfire clutched her hands together. "Yes friend Raven! I have heard many glorious things about 'the sleepovers' and would like to have your involvement in one with me!"

Raven sighed. "You really think that I would want to go to something like that? I have better things to do with my time." She tried to go back to the book she'd been reading.

"Please friend Raven!" Starfire pleaded, drawing closer with wide eyes, and Raven vaguely wondered who it was that had taught her the infamous "puppy eyes". It certainly couldn't have been Robin. Starfire smiled, an open expression filled with hope. "I look forward very much to the 'fights of pillows' and 'girl talk' I have heard so much about! You must join me!"

"Whoa, pillow fights?" Beast Boy paused the game, and the two girls turned around to find him, along with Cyborg and Robin in the distance, listening attentively to their conversation. "Dude, Raven, you've got to go to this sleepover!"

"Didn't anyone ever tell you it's impolite to eavesdrop?" she growled, closing her book. "And why would you care? You wouldn't be going to a girl's sleepover either way."

Beast Boy smiled widely. Of course he hadn't planned on being invited to the sleepover -if there was going to be one at all- but the thought of maybe sneaking in on the girls when they were dressed in their lingerie and smacking each other with fluffy pillows did appeal to his young teenage mind. If Starfire had a sleepover in the tower's main room, there could be a distinct possibility that he might get a glimpse of this fantasy. "I'm not saying that I'm going to go, Raven!" Beast Boy lied. "I'm saying that _you_ should go because of the pillow fight! Those things are awesome!"

Raven frowned at him, knowing there must be some secret motive behind his encouragements, and though she had her suspicions as to what it might be, she knew she couldn't outright accuse him without evidence of some kind or she would look like a fool. It didn't help that Starfire didn't realize his intentions and instead went along, agreeing with him. "Yes Raven!" she cried. "The fights of pillows will be one of many enjoyments that our sleepover would have!"

Cyborg joined in. "It does sound like it would be fun, Raven," he provided, unable to help that despite his higher maturity level he still wanted to see girls pillow fighting.

"It could be a good bonding experience for you and Starfire," Robin added, approaching.

Raven huffed. She never had been one for the late night gossips or girl talks, having grown up on a different world and being taught to keep her emotions under control out of fear that Trigon's power could take her over if she opened up too much. Now that Trigon was dead though, she was free to feel what she wanted to as long as she didn't accidentally blow the roof off with a burst of emotion. She groaned, "Fine, I'll do it." Starfire squealed, clapping her hands together. "But-," Raven cut her off with a sharp look, "if we must, we won't have a pillow fight." She paused, her eyes glittering dangerously. "It'll be a war."

Starfire laughed happily, swooping higher in the air, and even Robin had to smile at that. "Wonderful!" Starfire exclaimed. "I shall invite our other friends!"

"Others?" Raven asked, but Starfire was already gone, having flown off to find more girls to include in their sleepover. "She never said anything about others," Raven muttered.

"Weeeelll, that's Starfire for you," Beast Boy smiled, starting his game against Cyborg again. "She was probably so excited because you agreed that she forgot to tell you." He glanced at the empath. "So, you think you'll need some help with that pillow war?"

Raven picked up her book. "You're not coming, Beast Boy."

"Aw, dude, why not?" he whined.

"Because it's a girl's sleepover, and you, as far as I am aware, are not a girl." Raven stood and turned from him, walking away from the couch.

Beast Boy groaned. "You're with me on this, aren't you Cy? I mean, there's going to be tons of girls in the tower for a _sleepover_!" Beast Boy exclaimed. "Dude, it would be like a dream come true except that we can't get into it!"

"Yeah man, I feel for you," Cyborg admitted. "Though if the girls don't want us to come, then there's nothing we can do." He cast a swift look at Robin who was hovering over Starfire's shoulder as she dialed the phone. "I'm sure that Robin would want to get in too if he could, but we aren't girls."

"Dude!" Beast Boy jumped up. "I just got a crazy idea!"

"We are not dressing up like girls to sneak into the sleepover man," Cyborg stated without missing a beat.

"Aw!" Beast Boy sulked, plopping back down on the sofa. They were both quiet for a few minutes, half-heartedly pressing buttons on their controllers. During that time, Robin approached the two.

"Well guys, it looks like Star's finished inviting a few more girls to her sleepover," he announced.

"When is it?" Cyborg asked, casting a quick look over his shoulder at Robin.

"She's planned for it to be tonight. They'll be sleeping in this room here, so we'd better pick up some of our garbage that's lying around. Meaning _your_ garbage."

"Dude, this is so unfair!" Beast Boy suddenly exclaimed, throwing his controller in the air, uncaring that he was in the middle of the game. He wasn't really paying attention at this point anyway, seeing as he was distracted by the fantasies that were inhabiting his mind. "A bunch of girls are having a sleepover in our Tower, right under our noses, and we can't go! I'm sure they're going to have an awesome pillow fight too, just to spite me!"

Robin stayed silent, portraying nothing that might reveal his opinion being in agreement with or against Beast Boy's.

"I'll bet they'll be talking up some juicy gossip too," Cyborg nodded, glancing at their leader. "You know how it is with girls. They stay up all night when it comes to these things, talking about shopping and shoes and stuff. And the boys they like," he added with a mischievous smile. Both Beast Boy and Robin looked up at that. "Yeah," Cyborg continued, "that's mostly what it's all about. They talk about who they're _in love _with and why they like them and all that." Robin frowned.

"So what plan have you two cooked up to get in?" he asked, leaning on the couch.

Beast Boy grinned. "Well, I had one idea-."

"We're not dressing up like girls, Beast Boy," Robin cut off. Beast Boy huffed, crossing his arms. "Anything else?" the leader inquired, ignoring the younger boy. Cyborg shook his head, and Robin put his hand to his chin, the ingenious detective's mind pondering the problem.

"Dude," Beast Boy suddenly said. "We could just try to sneak in."

"Hm." Robin considered it. "It could work, if we time it right. One of us could just walk in for a 'midnight snack' and…" He frowned, moving his head back and forth like he was coming out of a daze. "What am I saying? We need to let them have their privacy. We can't do this."

Cyborg and Beast Boy exchanged glances. "Man, Starfire."

"In her underwear, dude," Beast Boy reminded.

Robin faltered. No matter how good of a leader he was, he still was a teenage boy. "No, we still can't," he decided, trying once more to fight his primal urges. "It's an invasion of privacy!"

"Okay, then I guess you'll never find out why it is that she likes you," Cyborg shrugged, he and Beast Boy turning away. "If you're never going to end up progressing in whatever 'relationship' you have going on right now, then that's not my fault, man. It's your call."

Robin hesitated, and then gave in. "Well, I guess if it's because it's like that…"

"Awesome, you're back in," Cyborg grinned, facing the Titan leader once more. "I knew you wouldn't be able to resist because of Starfire."

His cheeks slightly red, the leader frowned. "What about you guys then? You sure there isn't some specific reason _you_ want to get into the sleepover?" he asked, crossing his arms.

Cyborg laughed. "It's girls in their underwear. Why wouldn't I want to?"

Beast Boy grinned, his canine tooth glinting. "Pillow fights, dude."

Robin ran a hand through his hair. "You know, I don't think that girls actually sit around in their underwear all the time at these things, let alone have pillow fights in-."

Beast Boy slapped his hand over Robin's mouth. "Shh, dude! Don't ruin it for me! I've got fantasies built off of this!" He tapped his head with a finger as if to keep the dreams within his brain.

Cyborg smirked almost knowingly. "Are you sure there isn't a different reason, BB? Other than the pillow fights?"

"What? No," Beast Boy answered, frowning.

"You sure there's not a certain girl that you'd want to hear who it is that she's got a crush on?" the larger teen cooed, his robotic eye glowing bright.

"No dude," Beast Boy insisted. Robin lifted an eyebrow. Beast Boy saw. "What?! You think I like someone?!"

"Not at first," the leader admitted, "but now since you're denying it so strongly I think that you must." He leaned forward, a smile making its way across his face. "Spill it, Beast Boy. Who do you have a crush on?"

"No one!" he squeaked, and was saved from further pestering by Starfire's arrival. A garbage can in her hands, she glided over to the boys, each who quickly straightened.

"Excuse me, friends! I am needing to clean up the bags of chips so that I can prepare for our guests' arrivals!" She flew to the table, humming as she threw trash into the garbage can. The boys watched her, Beast Boy quietly sighing with relief at his escape from the interrogations. Once Starfire had finished, she faced the boys. "How many pillows are needed in a fight of the pillows?" she asked, eyes sparkling excitedly.

"Um…," Robin said, "I think that you only really need one per person."

"But we're having a war," Raven reminded, appearing from behind the couch. Cyborg and Beast Boy jumped in surprise, falling off the sofa. "We'll need a lot more than one per person."

"Don't _do_ that!" Beast Boy complained, rubbing his head. Raven ignored him.

"Does that mean we will need to go to the mall of shopping?!" Starfire cried eagerly. Raven sighed, dipping her head, and Starfire laughed with joy. She snatched Raven's arm, proceeding to fly out the door at an unbelievable speed. The doors slid shut behind them.

The boys looked at each other. "Okay, now we _need_ to find a way to get in," Cyborg said.

* * *

"The party has arrived!" Bumblebee spread her arms out wide, announcing her arrival. She was dressed in her usual yellow and black outfit, accessorized by a green bag was slung over her shoulder. The girl's hair was tied up in two separate, tight buns, and her heels gave her a boost by at least two inches. Playing video games on the couch, the three boys on the sofa glanced back at her. Bumblebee looked around the room. "So, uh, where are all the girls in this place?"

"Shopping," Cyborg replied, focusing on the game. "Aren't you early?"

"Why does it matter, Sparky?" she asked, flying over to the sofa with a soft buzz of her wings. "You miss me? We haven't hung out in a few months, right? Getting lonely?"

"The only thing I've missed is kicking your butt during training," Cyborg grumbled, pounding on his controller. Bumblebee smiled. She always could push just the right buttons when it came to teasing Cyborg, in both the literal and figurative sense. It helped that he was half robot. Adjusting her bag filled with the things she needed for the sleepover further up her shoulder, she sat down on the couch.

"So, what are you all playin'?" she asked, propping her feet on the table.

"Nothin' you need to join in on," Cyborg grunted, knowing how competitive she could get and forgetting that he was usually the reason.

"It's a racing game," Robin answered so not to be rude.

"Racing, huh?" Bumblebee snatched a controller from Beast Boy. "Let me have a go."

"Hey!" Beast Boy complained. "I wasn't done with that!" He tried to pull it out of her hands, but she kept him back with her foot. She battered the buttons on the controller, and soon there was a flag on the screen broadcasting that her car had crossed the finish line in first place.

She grinned. "What was it that you always say, Sparky? Boo-ya?"

Cyborg threw the controller down. "You only won because we were almost at the end when you joined! I demand a one-on-one rematch!"

Bumblebee lifted an eyebrow. "Challenge accepted." She picked up her controller again, and she and Cyborg began another race, Robin and Beast Boy glancing at each other as the starting light on the T.V. signaled green. Around the middle of the race, the main doors slid open, and Raven glided into the room.

"No pillows, Raven?" Robin called, noting her arrival.

Raven looked at him. "Starfire insisted she carry them all. It was quite an… interesting trip back." She had scarcely finished speaking when Starfire floated in. It was difficult to see who was there actually; pillows of all shapes and sizes were stacked to the ceiling, steadied by Starfire's arms and legs and hiding the girl from view. If the boys could see the alien princess's face, they would have been blinded by the bright smile she was wearing. It was a wonder that she'd balanced all the cushions through the hall without dropping the majority of them. A large blue pillow fell from the top of the pile, but before it could touch the ground, Raven levitated the cushion back onto the stack. Though she didn't crack a smile, it was clear that she was enjoying this.

"Boo-ya, Sparky! That's how it's done!" Bumblebee proclaimed her victory, jumping up on the couch and pumping her fists in the air. Once again in first place, she had beaten Cyborg by a wide margin.

"Boo-ya's my thing," Cyborg muttered.

"Whoa!" Bumblebee exclaimed, turning around and catching sight of the enormous mound of pillows. "Are we going to war with those things or something?" She soared up to the other girls.

Raven blinked. "Maybe."

Robin approached Starfire. "Star, do you need a hand with that? It looks like it could fall over any minute. Maybe I could-."

"Oh, no, Robin!" came Starfire's muffled voice from the heart of the fluffy mountain. "I am quite wonderful! In fact, I am glorious! It is like carrying the white objects that float in the sky in my arms!" She somehow made her way to the center of the room and dropped her load behind the couch. Robin swore the earth shook when it hit the ground.

Beast Boy poked his head up from where he sat on the sofa. "_Dude,_ that's a lot of pillows!" Without hesitation, he dove into the center, swimming around like he was doing the backstroke through the ocean and spreading the cushions throughout the room even more so as he did so. "This is awesome! Why can't we be in the pillow war?!"

"Wait, the boys aren't joining us?" Bumblebee asked. "And I was looking so forward to kicking Sparky's butt," she sighed. "Just like I did at his game, but worse." By the sofa, Cyborg strangled the air in front of him as she shrugged. "Oh well. Who else is coming?"

"I invited many of our Titan friends, although there are several that I could not contact." Starfire replied, wading out of the pool of pillows. "Sadly, Argent is unable to attend, but both Kole and Jinx will join us soon!"

"Sounds like fun," Bumblebee smirked, placing her hands on her hips. "Well, since I'm early, I might as well kill some time by crushing Sparky at his game again." Cyborg snorted, drawing his shoulders together angrily and picking up a controller without a word. While he and Bumblebee battled it out, Starfire requested Robin's help in ordering pizza. Raven, finding nothing to do, was about to depart to her room until the other girls arrived when Beast Boy cried out from where he was swimming in the pillows.

"Help! Help me!" he exclaimed, waving his arms back and forth. "I'm drowning!" He sunk down underneath the pillows, throwing his hand above his head as he dropped. Soon he was completely submerged. Raven crossed her arms, not amused and frowning, as Beast Boy stuck his head out. "Why didn't you rescue me?"

"One," Raven sighed, "you weren't in any danger. And two, I saw no need to leap into a mass of pillows like you did for no reason."

"Fair enough," Beast Boy nodded, rolling on his back and propping his feet on a particularly large pillow, angled now so he was upside down and looking at Raven. He lifted an eyebrow. "But if I _was_ in danger, then would you save me?"

Raven considered it. "That would depend on the circumstances."

"What circumstances?"

"If I was in a good mood or not," Raven replied, eyes glinting.

Beast Boy snorted. "Next time my life's in danger, I'll count on Cyborg. Great to know how much you care, Rae."

"I try." She turned around, exiting to her room for some meditation. Beast Boy was watching her go when a victory shout came from the sofa.

"And I defend my title as the new champion!" Bumblebee cried, punching the air. "Boo-ya!"

"If you use my catch phrase one more time…," Cyborg growled, steaming with anger. "Four out of five," he demanded, starting another match.

"Anytime you feel like getting your butt whooped, Sparky, I'm there," Bumblebee smirked, picking up her controller. They played for an hour more, and during that time Cyborg managed to win four games where Bumblebee lost track of how many times she triumphed. She didn't forget to remind him of his number of losses, however, and every game only made Cyborg more irritated, though he was too stubborn to give up. Throughout the period they had been competing, the phone had rang, and a very apologetic Kole had regretted to say that she couldn't make it. She and Gnarrk were having a little trouble with the dinosaurs down where they lived, and while they could easily handle it, it would take a long time to sort the problem out. She mentioned something about velociraptors in their kitchen.

The pizza arrived after Cyborg and Bumblebee finished their twentieth or so game. Neither wanting to admit they were both exhausted, they called a truce to break for pizza. Once the pizza arrival was announced, Raven appeared quietly from her room to join her friends, and Jinx arrived a few minutes later.

"Jeez, save some for me," she smirked, glancing over the teenagers chowing down on the pizza.

"Jinx! Glorious tidings!" Starfire greeted, swooping Jinx up in a great hug.

"Uh, yeah," Jinx said awkwardly. Starfire placed her down and Jinx brushed herself off. "I'm not one who's big on hugs," she explained.

"You and me both," Raven muttered, edging away in case Starfire was still in a hugging mood.

"Whoa," Jinx said as Bumblebee offered her a slice of pizza. She had just seen the enormous amount of pillows beside the couch. She walked forward, stuffing her food in her mouth, and leaned closer to inspect them. "I can't even see the floor. Are these for that pillow fight you mentioned?" she asked, spraying food everywhere.

"You'd better believe it," Bumblebee smiled.

"Excellent," Jinx grinned, swallowing and cracking her knuckles together eagerly. "When do we start?" The girls exchanged glances.

"I'm ready anytime," Raven stated.

"As am I!" Starfire added.

"Bring it on," Bumblebee challenged.

Jinx smirked slyly. "Really? Anytime?" She suddenly flipped into the pile, kicking two pillows at the girls, who scattered. Both of her projectiles smacked into Beast Boy from behind, and he stumbled forward, spattering his pizza slice on the ground. With a cry of anguish, he knelt beside the fallen food, cradling it in his hands like it was an injured comrade. The females paid him no attention, spreading out to different sides of the room in preparation for battle. With a shrug, Robin and Cyborg joined in, and, after a moment, Beast Boy wiped the tomato sauce from his hands, tossed the pizza in the trash, and also entered into their battle. The pillow fight was nowhere even close to what normal teenagers might experience. Each Titan at this sleepover was a warrior, and had been in combat for a very long time, so the result was Raven receiving the war she wanted. It started out as a free-for-all, but after a few intense moments and several truces were called, two teams emerged from the ruckus. Robin, Bumblebee, Starfire, and Cyborg were verses Jinx, Raven, and Beast Boy who Raven actually did rescue at one point from a volley of pillows despite what she'd stated earlier. Apparently she was in a good mood.

Robin glanced at his team, the strategy that was needed to win already formed in his mind. They were crouched behind a barricade of pillows to the left of the couch. He peeked over the barrier. The other team was hiding behind a wall of their own on the other side of the room, no doubt planning their next move as well. He lowered his head. "Listen up," he whispered to his team. "We'll have to watch out mainly for Raven, as she can control any pillow without contact. Also, be careful with the ground in front of Jinx. Starfire, you'll go after her since you can fly; I know you can take her. Cyborg, you handle Beast Boy." Cyborg grinned, punching his fist into his hand. Robin nodded. "Bumblebee, you and I will deal with Raven. I'll distract her, and then you fly up on her from behind."

"Got it, hot shot," she smiled, unhooking her "stingers"-as she called them- from where they were strapped to her hips.

"Ready?" Robin asked, and, receiving nods from everyone, stood. "Titans, go!" They split up, sprinting in different directions. Starfire took to the air, and she and Cyborg zipped to the left. Robin saw a flash of pink light and leapt to the side, dodging a hex sent over the ground at him by Jinx. She managed to throw one more burst of magic over the ground before Starfire tackled the girl, and Robin and Bumblebee headed for the fort. Cyborg had disappeared somewhere, but Robin was certain the robotic teenager could cope with whatever Beast Boy threw at him. Robin reached the fort and yanked down the barrier, prepared to face Raven's mystic powers. He was caught off guard to meet green eyes and a grin that had a single canine tooth poking out the side.

"Boo," Beast Boy said.

Robin stumbled backwards, his mind already recalculating. He'd be able to defeat Beast Boy, but it would require different tactics. "Bumblebee," he called. "I need you to-." He cut off as hands from behind pushed him forward into Beast Boy's waiting pillow. He blinked to find himself on the ground with Beast Boy just in front of him, holding a pillow to his neck like it was a blade.

"I think this means we win," he smiled. Robin glanced back, catching sight of Raven floating over Cyborg, who was covered in black-encased pillows. Jinx stood beside Starfire nearby, who Raven had also assisted in defeating. Robin smirked, nodding, and took the hand that Beast Boy offered. He got to his feet, dusting himself off and plucking feathers from his hair.

"Man, how did we lose?!" Cyborg complained, standing as well. He threw a pillow down. "I thought we had a plan!"

"Because the other team had a double agent," Robin replied, glancing at Bumblebee, recalling when someone had pushed him into Beast Boy's pillow. "Isn't that right, Bumblebee?"

She shrugged. "Sorry, hot shot. I couldn't pass up an opportunity to humiliate Sparky again. It was just too good of a set-up." She tilted her head. "No hard feelings though, right? It's all in good fun!" Robin shook his head with a smile, but Cyborg disagreed.

"You let our team lose just because you wanted to humiliate me?" he cried. "Why on earth would you do that?!"

"Because of the reaction you're giving right now," Bumblebee laughed. "This was totally worth it, Sparky!"

"Why I otta-!"

"Good game guys," Robin interrupted, slipping in between Cyborg and Bumblebee before another argument started.

"I'll say it was," Jinx smirked, approaching with the others. "Especially when we destroyed your team!" She brushed her hands together. "That was the most fun I've had in a long time!" Just because she wasn't on the villainous side anymore didn't mean that she couldn't enjoy winning against the superheroes once in a while.

"It's getting late," Raven observed, glancing at the window. In fact, the sun had completely set outside, and the stars were starting to come into view. She put a glowing hand out, and a section of the pillows moved themselves to the side out of the way.

Bumblebee yawned, stretching her arms above her in a Y-shape. "Alright boys, fun's over. Clear out of here so we can set up our stuff."

"Aw, bedtime already?" Beast Boy complained. "You sure you're all not up for another war?"

"I _am_ getting tired, friend Beast Boy," Starfire confessed.

"Besides," Raven added, "you got your pillow fight. Why would you want to stay otherwise?"

Beast Boy's ears drooped. "But pillow fights are fun," he mumbled. Raven lifted an eyebrow at him.

"The girls are right," Robin said, placing a hand on Beast Boy's shoulder. "We need to let them have their privacy, and it's time we hit the hay." Beast Boy opened his mouth to object, but Robin steered him and Cyborg out of the room.

"Dude! What the heck?!" Beast Boy protested once they were in the hall. "We were going to try to stay in there, remember?! I didn't know that getting hit in the head with a pillow could cause amnesia! Did you forget the plan about listening in on them or something?!"

Robin stayed quiet, waiting for Beast Boy's rant to end. When the shape-shifter eventually finished, his leader smirked, crossing his arms. "If you're done, then I suggest you listen to this." He held up a small sleek gadget. "When we were in there, I placed a miniature recorder on the bottom of the table. It will transmit their conversations to us, should work just fine, and we don't have to be anywhere nearby for it to function correctly."

"Dude! You are an evil genius!" Beast Boy high-fived him. "Come on, let's tune in!"


	2. Deal?

**Thanks for all the WONDERFUL feedback! Please, keep it coming everyone! I also am going to apologize in advance for any incorrect behavior from Bumblebee and Jinx; I've never written for either of them before, so sorry if they aren't like you're used to. I'll do my best to keep them true to their characters, as I will do to keep this sleepover as similar to a real sleepover as possible.**

**I'm deciding right now that the two main couples in this are going to be Rob/Star and Rae/BB if only because 1. I'm more used to them. and 2. I'm still getting the hang of Bumblebee's and Jinx's personalities. I'll have to decide later how much there will be of Bumblebee's and Jinx's relationships.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"What shall we the 'girl talk' about first?" Starfire asked eagerly. She had just finished changing into her bedtime pink tank-top and fuzzy bottoms. The others were wearing pajamas of similar style; Bumblebee had on a yellow tank-top, Jinx was dressed in an oversized pink shirt that said BAD GIRL with bold, violet letters, and Raven wore a sleeveless indigo blouse. Their four sleeping bags were spread out in a circle like a sun so they could face each other while talking.

"Girl talk?" Bumblebee asked, throwing her daytime outfit off to the side. "Honey, we _boy_ talk. I have no interest in talking about girls."

"Oh, so we are doing the 'boy talk' then?" Starfire corrected.

"You bet we are! That's the best part about sleepovers!" Bumblebee replied, grinning. "Although I dare say our pillow fight came in a close second. We probably broke a few records somewhere during that thing." She lay out on her sleeping bag so she was pressed on her stomach, causing a soft rustle of cloth. "And, as always, everything said at a sleepover stays at the sleepover, though that really needs to go unsaid. Alright, who's going first?"

"Hang on," Jinx interrupted, tilting her head. After a moment of silence, she got to her feet and walked over to the table. Reaching underneath, she detached a small object that was blinking red lights. She looked at the other girls, showing them. A tell-tale yellow_ R_ was printed on the front.

"A recorder," Raven realized.

"I shoulda known," Bumblebee sighed. "Boys. Although I thought that Robin would be above it of all people."

"The other two probably convinced him," Raven stated. She addressed Jinx. "Destroy it."

Jinx smiled, her eyes glinting naughtily. "I have a better idea." She walked over to the television, and, after a little fiddling with wires, placed the recorder on the table. The rest looked at her curiously. "I hooked it up to the T.V.'s sound. Those nosy idiots should have a good time listening to the Weather Channel all night." She sat down on her sleeping bag as Bumblebee laughed.

"You are a wicked mastermind," she chuckled, clapping her hand on Jinx's shoulder. "So, the boys are curious? I wouldn't blame them. A bunch of pretty girls gossiping about stuff, possibly some of them the subject, right under their noses and they couldn't hear? It must be driving them nuts!"

"Gotta give them props for trying though," Jinx added.

"How did you know that recorder was there?" Raven inquired, crossing her legs.

"I've been to sleepovers before, especially at Hive Academy," Jinx explained. "Some guy's always trying to hear in on our conversations. Maybe one day I should let them and see what happens," she mused. A grin stretched over her face, reminding the other girls of a Cheshire cat. "We could totally mess with the boys."

"Not tonight though," Raven stated sternly.

"Well, no duh. Alright, so back to the business at hand," Jinx said, pointing a finger at them. "Boy talk. Who do you all like?"

"Whoa, right to the point, girl," Bumblebee scoffed, throwing her hands up in defense. "Why ask us? Why don't we start with you? Who you got a crush on?"

Jinx rolled her eyes. "Kid Flash, my boyfriend. Obviously."

"See, it's no fun when you don't make it interesting!"

"It's not like it's a secret," Raven reminded.

"Exactly. Besides," Jinx smirked at her and Bumblebee, "I'll have more fun squeezing it out of you two."

Bumblebee huffed. "What about Starfire?"

Starfire opened her emerald eyes wide. "Me?"

"Yeah, you honey," Bumblebee said, slanting toward the alien princess. "How's things going between you and Robin? Anything happened ever since you kissed in Tokyo?" The Titan's vacation had been passed through the air and around the seas by word of mouth, and by now, several months later, anyone with a communicator knew about the Tokyo fiasco.

Starfire blushed, rubbing her arm. "Well, no, I suppose not. Nothing has happened, but that also means that nothing bad has occurred, yes?" Her smile faded and she sighed. "Robin is… Robin. When he is focused on other things, nothing can distract him."

"Nothing," Raven agreed.

"But I should not worry, correct?" Starfire asked, looking at her friends.

Jinx considered it. "Well, he hasn't flirted with or shown interest in anyone else as far as you've seen, right?"

"Most certainly not!"

"Then you're fine," Jinx decided. "Just make sure he knows you still like him and vice versa, and you're good. Maybe sneak a surprise kiss in there once in a while too," she winked mischievously. Starfire reddened again, but dipped her head in consideration of the idea. Jinx turned on Bumblebee abruptly. "Quit dodging the question, Bee; it's your turn. Now spill it."

"Hm," Bumblebee deliberated, putting a finger to her chin. "Well… Alright, but only if you guess who it is. It's more fun that way," she beamed. The girls were quiet for a moment as they thought it over. "And here's a hint," Bumblebee added when the silence grew. "You all should know him."

"Is it not Herald?" Starfire asked first. "I thought you liked him before?" A rumor had been floating around that the two had dated, but when asked in person, both denied it.

"Eh," Bumblebee shrugged. "Nothing happened, and I got bored. He didn't show any interest, so I moved on."

"Aqualad?" Jinx guessed.

"No. Despite his good looks -which we can all acknowledge- he smells too much like fish."

Starfire bit her lip, thinking. "Is it Speedy?"

Bumblebee actually recoiled at this suggestion, falling back on her sleeping bag. "Ugh! No way! That guy spends way too much time on his hair! It takes me like fifteen minutes to get _this_ mess dealt with-,"-here she pointed to the buns in her hair-, "-and I'm still out of the bathroom before he is! I swear he never goes anywhere without a comb and a mirror! Most of the time, I just want to grab him and shove his head in the ground and…" She demonstrated, holding an imaginary Speedy by the hair and rubbing his nose in pretend dirt. She caught sight of the looks the other girls were giving her and grinned, putting her hands behind her back. "But other than that, he's a great team member!"

"Uh huh," Jinx doubted. She paused, trying to think of who else it could be. "Is it…?"

"It's Cyborg," Raven sighed.

Bumblebee's jaw dropped, and she whipped her head to the empath. "How did you-? Did you do some weird spell thing and read my mind or something?"

"I didn't need to read your mind to figure out something like that," Raven replied, balancing her elbow on her leg and propping her head up with her fist. "It seemed obvious to me. You were like a child on the playground in here today, except that instead of it being the boy pulling pigtails, you were the girl pushing buttons."

"Smart," Bumblebee admitted, only slightly annoyed that Raven figured it out so easily.

"So you have the crush on friend Cyborg?" Starfire asked. "How glorious!" She clapped her hands. "How long have you done the liking of him?"

Bumblebee lifted her shoulders. "I don't know for sure. It just kind of came up. We'll have to wait and see if anything happens with Sparky though; he's a lovable nut job sometimes." She sighed happily, pausing as she stared off into space for a moment, and then shook her head. "I mean, what's not to like? He's super smart, has always been in good shape, and, best of all, I can easily bait him into whatever competition I want him to be in with me."

"Yes, because that is always something to look for in a guy," Raven muttered sarcastically.

Having heard, a smiling Bumblebee fixed her gaze on Raven. "Alright then girl, if you're so smart, then how about you tell us who you like? My turn's over, and now it's yours. We all said who we like, so now you gotta tell us yours," she insisted sternly.

Raven raised an eyebrow. "Who says I like anyone?"

"Come on," Jinx ganged up with Bumblebee on the dark empath. "You've _got_ to like someone. It's just like a rule." Raven shook her head.

"Unless," Bumblebee realized suddenly, "you like someone that we already like?!" She narrowed her eyes. "You don't like Cyborg, do you?"

Raven almost laughed. Almost. "I guarantee that I do not have a crush on Cyborg." Bumblebee seemed to believe her, and the Titans East leader moved back, nodding with acceptance.

"Please friend Raven," Starfire pressed, clutching her hands together in a pleading gesture. "I would like very much to know who it is that you have the crush on! We are the best girl friends, remember?"

Raven rolled her eyes. "Even if I did like someone, I wouldn't tell any of you," she stated stubbornly. "I'm not going to give away my thoughts for free. I've been used to showing no emotion my whole life, so why should I start now?" She leaned back, crossing her arms, but Starfire pushed closer, her eyes wide with persuasive intent. Raven glared at her. "Beast Boy taught you those puppy eyes, didn't he?" she asked, annoyed.

"It's Beast Boy!" Jinx cried, causing everyone to jump. Raven looked at her. "I'm right, aren't I?" Jinx inquired, staring at the darker girl intently.

Raven brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "I never said that you were."

"But I am," Jinx smirked. "Look at you! You pushed your hair back when I mentioned him and you're blushing!" She laughed, rolling back on her sleeping bag, small sparks of pink jumping from her fingers out of excitement. "I'm so right!" Raven glowered at Jinx, ashamed that she had been powerless to hide the red that rose in her face at the mention of Beast Boy. Starfire put a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Is she correct?" she asked Raven quietly. Raven, unable to meet her eyes due to embarrassment, stared at the ground and nodded. "Oh, but how cute!" Starfire exclaimed. "You and Beast Boy would be such an adorable couple!" She lowered her voice, though her tone was bright. "I had believed Beast Boy to have the crush on _you_, Raven! I did not realize you thought that fondly of _him!_" Raven's eyes widened.

Bumblebee interrupted. "Whoa girl, hold it! You had suspicions and you didn't say nothin' to us? I figured we were on the same side here!"

"But Raven," Jinx jumped in, "if Starfire thinks that he likes you…"

"Don't even go there. Just shut it," Raven growled, growing even hotter. "It's only temporary. I'll get rid of my feelings soon enough."

"What?" Jinx chuckled. "No, you won't! Don't pretend to go all _emotionless empath _on us. You aren't about to put those feelings aside, because we won't let you!" Raven rolled her eyes, still not looking at anyone. Jinx crossed her legs and rocked back and forth, pleased with herself for figuring out Raven's crush.

Even Bumblebee was having fun with this new discovery. "Oh, you've got it _bad,_ girl!"

Raven massaged her temples. "Can we please stop talking about this? I prefer to keep my emotions, whatever they may be, unsaid."

"No, see that's the kind of talk that will make sure Beast Boy _never_ figures out you like him!" Jinx stated firmly. "You've got to let those feelings out!" Raven grumbled. She wasn't sure she wanted the green shape-shifter to know how she felt, now or ever. She wasn't good at expressing her emotions, and whenever she had done so in the past, something bad always happened. In her opinion, it was better to keep them bottled up instead of out in the open.

"So," Bumblebee started, leaning closer, "why is it that you like him?" The other girls nodded, curious as well. "Is it his jokes?"

Raven scowled at her. "No."

"Is your favorite color secretly green?"

"No," Raven sighed.

"His ability to lose at the easiest of video games even when playing against Cyborg?"

"_No_."

"Um… His love for tofu?" Bumblebee guessed. Everyone looked at her strangely on that one. "What? I'm grasping at straws here! Help me out, girl," she begged. When still Raven didn't say anything, Bumblebee threatened, "If you don't tell me then I'll just have to go ask Beast Boy some questions of my own."

Raven's eyes flashed dangerously. "You wouldn't dare. I could do the same to you with Cyborg."

Bumblebee shrugged. "Go ahead. I'm not against him finding out, and you wouldn't have the nerve to do it anyway." She smirked, placing a finger on her chest. "But me on the other hand…"

"Fine," Raven snapped. "But know that if you ever repeat this, keep in mind that I know where you live. And sleep." Bumblebee ignored the shiver that darted up her spine and nodded, anticipating what Raven was going to say. Raven took a deep breath, closing her eyes. "When he's not being stupid, or an idiot, or playing pranks on everyone, or telling obnoxious jokes, or complaining, or playing loud video games, or trying to include me in _everything_," she began, and the girls exchanged glances; that was a long disclaimer. "…He is actually kind of… sweet. Underneath the irritating habits he has, he can be serious when he wants to, and has made me feel better when I was upset various times in the past. He knows what to do or say if I'm troubled." She paused. "I… also think he has cute ears," she confessed with a cough.

"Awww!" the three listening girls cooed. Raven exhaled again, opening her eyes and thinking that she was never going to hear the end of it now. However, sensing that Raven wanted them to change the subject, Starfire came to her friend's rescue.

"Do not be embarrassed, friend Raven," she comforted. "I find 'the cuteness' in Robin as well." She smiled. "He has quite attractive hair."

"Thanks… Starfire," Raven mumbled, not feeling very aided.

"What about his eyes?" Jinx interrupted, finally moving on from Raven and addressing Starfire. "What color are his eyes?"

Starfire hesitated, fiddling with her sleeping bag. "I… don't know."

"What?!" Bumblebee and Jinx gasped.

Looking down at her fingers, Starfire dipped her head. "Yes… I do not know what color his eyes are. He wears a mask, and I cannot see through the mask, so I do not know." Raven nodded. Robin never removed his mask, and none of the team ever asked him to. It was an unspoken rule to respect the secrecy of his identity.

"But-but-," Bumblebee stammered. "You two _kissed!_ How has he not-?!"  
Starfire interrupted quickly. "I would not ask him to do something so important without his wanting to do so. I respect his privacy, and he respects mine."

"He respects all of our privacy," Raven added. "We don't need to know his identity."

Bumblebee grumbled, rolling onto her back. "Well, I can understand the whole team, but _Starfire_! Girl, I thought in the very least he would show _you_!" Starfire shrugged, still playing with strings on her sleeping bag.

Jinx chuckled. "Well Bee, you're one to talk. You've only ever seen one of Cyborg's eyes," she stated, recalling his one electronic eye and one human.

"And it is a gorgeous blue-gray color," Bumblebee defended, sitting up again. "At least I've seen _one_ of them."

"Are you ever going to ask him out?" Jinx pried.

"Maybe. We'll see how it turns out. If he ever makes the first move," she deliberated, examining her fingernails.

Jinx chuckled. She hadn't had such entertaining talks about boys in a long time. Ever since she'd teamed up with Kid Flash, the pink sorceress's company had been greatly lacking other females. Not that spending time with her boyfriend was a bad thing, the opposite really, but it was nice to get away from all that testosterone once in a while. In truth, it was one of the reasons Jinx agreed to come to the sleepover.

The girls had started to fade from conversing and on into their thoughts when Bumblebee suddenly straightened, her head snapping up. "I just got an idea!"

"That's an evil look in your eye," Jinx observed, grinning. "I can't wait to hear this."

"We've all got our crushes, and nothing seems to be happening, right? So the next time we have a sleepover, there will be nothing for us to talk about! I propose we do something about it!" She cracked her knuckles, scanning over the other girls who were watching her with a mixture of caution, interest, and anticipation. "By the time that we have another sleepover, say in two weeks, we will have to have convinced each of our crushes to kiss us!" Raven visibly paled, blanching even whiter than her ashen skin already was, but Jinx and Starfire seemed to consider it. "Think about it! You're winning no matter what!" Bumblebee encouraged them. "You get a kiss, _and _we have something to chat over at the sleepover!"

"Forget it," Raven said, no longer pale, instead an angry blush having settled on her cheeks. "There is no way I would even consider that. How would it happen anyway? The only one who would be likely to accomplish it would be Starfire because she and Robin have already kissed." The dark empath folded her arms over her chest, stubborn.

Bumblebee pondered this. "You're right. So, let's change it for her." She faced the Tamaranean. "Instead of getting him to kiss you, get him to take his mask off," she ordered.

Starfire's eyes grew wide. "W-what?! I could never do that! That is Robin's privacy!"

"And this is our deal." Jinx smirked, all for the idea. She knew she would be able to get Kid Flash to kiss her without a problem. While they had yet to have their first kiss, there'd been a few times where they'd been close, and the pink sorceress knew she had to give him but a little push to get it to happen. "But let's make things more interesting," she proposed, glancing over the other girls. "If one of us does not get their kiss by the end of the given two weeks, then they will have to do any one task the rest of us decide on. And that includes _anything._ I'm thinking chores, dares, or-," she said, glancing at the others, "-revealing their crush. And we can't tell the boys about the deal." she added, pounding her fist into her palm as if to strengthen the rules. "Also _they_ have to kiss _us_, but we can make the first move."

Bumblebee nodded, pleased with the guidelines. Starfire was uncertain, but, despite her wishes to respect Robin's privacy, she _was_ curious what color his eyes were. And since he hadn't exactly respected her and the other girls' privacy by placing a recorder in the room to listen on their conversations, after a moment of reluctance she too bowed her head in agreement, leaving Raven to stand against the deal all by herself. The empath turned from them. "There is no way you will convince me to do this."

"Oh yeah?" Bumblebee asked, standing. "I guess I'll just go have a talk with Beast Boy then." She'd taken barely a step away when a mass of black wrapped itself around her leg. She looked at Raven who lowered her glowing hand.

"Sit down," she scowled, the empath's eyes emitting a light similar to that of her fingers.

"Only if you agree to do this with us."

"You're asking for trouble ," Raven uttered.

"I know."

"This can only end in disaster."

"That's one of two results to get from it." Bumblebee rolled her eyes. "Are you going to do this or not, because I can just go talk to Beast Boy and get this over with right now. That way you won't have to be involved in our little deal."

Raven snarled, her magic fading from her eyes. "Do kisses on the cheek count?" Bumblebee thought it over, and then nodded. "Fine," Raven growled. "I'll do it."

"Wonderful," Jinx smiled, her teeth glinting. "I can't wait."

* * *

"What on earth are they talking about in there?!" Beast Boy complained, pressing his sharp ear up against the closed door that led to the main room. "Your radio thing is broken!" he protested at Robin, the young leader fiddling with his gadget. "This is the Weather Channel we're hearing! I don't have any interest in the weather! That's the one channel I _avoid_ when I watch T.V.! I want to know what the girls are talking about!"

"I don't understand what's wrong with it," Robin said, perplexed. "This has never happened before. It's always performed flawlessly." Frustrated, he smacked the bottom of his device.

"Man, hurry up and fix that thing!" Cyborg groaned. "I'm sure we're missing tons of good gossip!" The trio was clustered in the hallway just outside the ops room, trying to catch a word of the girls' conversations in vain. When unfamiliar voices announcing the weather tomorrow was going to be sunny with a chance of clouds in the evening, followed by a twenty percent chance of thunderstorms, the three Titans realized something was very wrong. Robin had been trying to repair his device -which he didn't know was actually working quite perfectly- for the past twenty minutes. Eventually, he gave up and threw it on the ground.

"Okay, we need a different plan," he sighed. "This thing is not going to get fixed anytime soon."

"Argh, okay," Beast Boy racked his brain, moving away from the doors. "Um… I could maybe 'accidentally' walk in on them because I need a midnight snack?"

Robin shook his head. "Can't. The door's locked."

"Darn."

"Man," Cyborg groaned, trying to see in between the doors to no avail. "This is just not right! I'm sure they're just talking about such interesting stuff in there! Why can't we join in?! I haven't even gotten to see anybody in their underwear yet," he muttered beneath his breath. The teen thought hard as he searched his head for ideas. "Maybe we could say something about hearing them cry for help and we had to barge in?"

Exhaling, Robin ran a hand through his hair. "Too obvious, Cyborg."

Beast Boy reminded them. "Well, we always have the option of-."

"We are not dressing up as girls!" Robin and Cyborg shouted at the same time.

"Fine, fine," Beast Boy muttered, crossing his arms. He sat down against the wall, pouting.

"Man, I don't know what you're upset about," Cyborg stated, again attempting to get a look inside the main room to no avail. "You got your pillow fight. There's no reason for you to want to know what's going on in there anymore, right?" He hesitated, and then turned to Beast Boy with an evil grin. "Or is there?"

Beast Boy frowned. "Dude, I'm as curious as you to know what they're talking about."

Robin put his hand to his chin, rubbing it as he thought back. "If I recall right, you never really answered our question earlier today when we asked if you liked anyone or not." He looked pointedly at Beast Boy.

"Yes, I did!" Beast Boy protested, standing up. "I told you that I don't like anyone!"

"Come on, BB, man," Cyborg encouraged. He grabbed the back of Beast Boy's shirt as the shape-shifter was starting to edge away. "Who is it?!"

Beast Boy strained to pry himself free. "Dude, seriously!" He squirmed, but Cyborg had an iron grip. Beast Boy attempted kicking him away, and when that didn't work, he looked to Robin for help. The leader was watching the whole thing with a very amused face. Beast Boy whined. "Quit it, dude!"

"Who is it, Beast Boy?"

"I already told you! I-," Beast Boy exclaimed, twisting, "-don't-like-!" The doors slid apart and all three of the boys froze. "R-raven," Beast Boy stammered.

Raven looked at him and Cyborg, the two presently scrambled up on the floor in a jumble of arms and legs. She lifted an eyebrow. "Dare I even ask?" she sighed.

"Uh…" They quickly untangled themselves and fell into line beside Robin, each of them smiling innocently. Beast Boy coughed. "We were just… getting a midnight snack!" He patted his stomach. "You know, gotta fill up the tank for in case any bad guys try something late tonight!"

"Uh huh," she doubted. "All of you at the same time?"

"W-what are you doing out here?" Cyborg interrupted, avoiding her question. "I thought you would be talking with the other girls."

"I'm allowed to go to the bathroom, aren't I?" she retorted, crossing her arms. "And why would you care? I thought you were too busy rolling around in the hallway for no obvious reason to even remember there was a sleepover in the ops room." As she spoke, Robin peeked around the dark girl into the commons room. Inside, the other three female Titans were sitting in a circle talking quietly. Starfire happened to turn around and catch his eye. Smiling, she waved to him. He smiled sheepishly back. "So if you'll excuse me," Raven declared, walking past the boys, "I think I'll leave you in peace to your apparent pointless wrestling."

"Hey, hang on!" Beast Boy called, and she slowed to a halt. "So…," he started, fiddling with his thumbs. Raven waited for him expectantly, her loose violet blouse starting to feel cold in the hallway's air. "Talking about anything interesting in there?"

Raven studied him for a moment, and then faced away. "No. Nothing," she answered, turning a corner.

The boys waited for a quiet moment before Robin spoke up. "You guys," the leader said, rubbing his arm and catching Cyborg and Beast Boy's attention. "I think I'm getting too tired to be doing this so late," he admitted. "And it feels kind of wrong."

Cyborg sighed. "I guess you're right. They probably aren't chatting about anything much anymore."

"Yeah," Beast Boy agreed, yawning. "Raven even said that they weren't talking about interesting stuff, so…" In mutual agreement, the three trudged off to their rooms. Right before they parted, Beast Boy sighed. "Dudes, next time we should just have a sleepover of our own."


	3. Park

**I'm loving all your reviews! Thanks! Keep them coming please!**

* * *

"Well, I'm off," Jinx announced, slinging her bag over her shoulder. She addressed Raven, Starfire, and Bumblebee, all who were sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast. "See you in two weeks!"

"What?" Robin looked up from his scrambled eggs, a spiral of steam rising off of the plate toward the ceiling. "What's in two weeks?"

"Our next sleepover, boy blunder," Jinx smirked. Starfire looked at the spikey-haired boy, hoping he wouldn't be angry at the decision being made without confiding with him first. She, Bumblebee, Raven, and Robin were gathered in the ops room together for breakfast. Beast Boy and Cyborg had yet to make their appearance.

Robin put down his fork with a soft clink. "You've planned another sleepover already? Did you discover the secrets of the universe while at this one or something?"

"Maybe." Jinx raised an eyebrow mischievously. Before Robin could comment, she laughed and, waving, exited the room though the doors.

Robin shrugged, looking at the three girls nearby. "She is quite a character, huh?"

"You're telling me," Raven muttered under her breath.

"I'm surprised you haven't left yet, Bumblebee," Robin admitted, facing her. "Won't you need to go back to the Titans East soon?" As the leader of the team, he thought that she would be quite a busy bee trying to keep everyone and everything back home in order.

Bumblebee frowned, pointing her spoon at him. "Why? You need to get rid of me for some reason? No," she continued calmly, stirring her cereal, "I thought I would like to hang out here today. In fact, I was hoping everyone could come with me on a little trip to the park. We never all just do anything fun together. I'm always cooped up in the Tower back at home! Besides, I'm sure Aqualad has everything under control." She smirked, thinking of her aquatic teammate trying to keep a handle on Más and Menos, at the same time dealing with Speedy and his irritating habits involving a mirror and comb. "Yep," she continued cheerfully, taking a swig of orange juice. "Under control."

"Uh, okay," Robin said, somewhat bemused. The doors slid apart once more, and Cyborg and Beast Boy who walked in, both with matching sets of heavy bags under their eyes. The two crumpled into chairs beside the other Titans. Cyborg, in a daze, managed to sit upright, but Beast Boy didn't even try and collapsed, smacking his forehead on the table's surface.

"I would say ow," he grunted, not moving, "but I'm too tired even to do that."

"Why are you and Cyborg so sleepy, friend Beast Boy?" Starfire asked with concern. He only groaned, so Raven answered for him.

"Because that's what happens when he and these other two goofballs stay up for 'a snack' half of the night," she replied, jerking a thumb at Robin and Cyborg. She sipped her tea. "Although why Robin not in the same state as these two is a mystery to me."

"I've done all night stakeouts during past experiences," he admitted. "Compared to those, half of a night was nothing."

"Please Robin," Starfire said, turning his attention to her, "why were you up half of the night for a snack? Could you just not have simply come into the kitchen?"

"Um-," Robin choked, pulling at his collar, realizing that he of all people had almost given himself away. He was pretty sure Raven knew why he and the other boys had been out in the hallway, as did Bumblebee, but Starfire was innocent when it came to these things, and he didn't want her to find out. She would no doubt think badly of him, and that was the last thing the young man wanted. Plus, it was kind of embarrassing. "W-well, I was…." His quick-witted mind raced for an excuse, and he swiftly found one. "I was trying to get into the kitchen," he lied, hating the horrible feeling in his stomach that came with the fib, "but the doors were locked. I knocked, but I guess you girls were talking and didn't hear."

Raven rolled her eyes, but Starfire was instantly filled with guilt. It would seem she had forgotten all about the incident with the tape recorder the night before. "Oh, I apologize friend Robin!" she cried, grasping his arm. "I would have let you in had I heard! Please forgive my lack of noticing!"

Robin only felt worse. Making a mental promise that he would never try anything like that again, he placed a hand on Starfire's shoulder. "Don't blame yourself, Star. I should have knocked louder. It's my fault, not yours." Beside him, Beast Boy smacked his forehead against the table again without notice. If they had only knocked on the door, Starfire would have let them in. Next time, he was just going to go to bed instead of staying up half the night for no real reason.

Bumblebee set her cereal bowl in the sink and faced the Titans, setting her hands on her hips "Alright, let's head outta here!"

Cyborg finally pulled himself out of his sleepy daze. "Wait, we're going somewhere?" he mumbled, shaking his head groggily.

"You'd better believe it, Sparky!" Bumblebee smirked, leaning over to him and poking him in the chest. "So get that metal butt of yours off the seat before you make an indent in the chair and get going!"

Her jest jump-started Cyborg up into wide-awake mode. He snorted like an angry bull. "And where are we going, may I ask?" he demanded, jumping to his feet and crossing his arms before she could make any more comments about imprints in the chair. Raven sighed. It was obvious to the empath that Bumblebee was going to try to get her own end of their bet over with as soon as possible, which was why the Titans East leader was so insistent that they all spend more time together. Even though her plan might benefit Raven and Starfire as well, Raven wasn't sure she really wanted to jump into this so soon. Or at all for that matter.

Bumblebee, pleased that the robotic teenager was reacting so strongly to her insults, answered with a grin. "Well, I had plans that we should all go to the park to hang out today. You never get a chance to hang with me, so I'm making the opportunity." She smiled, one foot on the stairs. "Unless you don't want me to," she teased.

Cyborg lifted an eyebrow, but before he could answer, Robin interrupted. "Actually, Bumblebee, I had plans fo-."

"Great!" she cut off, her wings unfolding. "I'll see you all in the car!" She flew through the doors in the direction of the garage. Cyborg jumped to his feet, chasing after her and muttering something about Bumblebee not touching his baby T-car. The other Titans had exchanged glances when Beast Boy sat straight up.

"Wait, did she say we were going to the park?" he asked, blinking.

"Five minutes ago," Raven stated, crossing her legs and taking a sip from the tea she held between her fingers.

"Dude! I love the park!" Beast Boy exclaimed, leaping off of his chair with surprising vigor for someone who had just been stretched out on the table like a sloth moment before. Snatching the cereal box and pouring half of it into his mouth, he then threw it on the counter and dashed in the direction of his room to find his Frisbee. Robin looked at the remainder of his team as Raven levitated the remains of the cereal box into the trash can with a disgusted expression.

"Well then, I guess today's schedule has been decided for us," the Titan's leader sighed. "We're going to the park."

* * *

The park was the typical green, grassy field surrounded with trees arranged in a globular shape and shown on by sunny skies despite the fact October was drawing near. Kids in their elementary years were there with their parents, as were young college couples indulging in picnics and playing with animal companions. Only a few teenagers were present, seeing as most were probably sitting inside their homes in front of the T.V. or playing electronic games. The Teen Titans stepped out of the T-car, moving back a moment later to avoid a young runner jogging throughout the park with her iPod singing various tunes in her ears. She passed them with hardly a glance.

"I have not been to the park in a very long time!" Starfire cried happily, floating alongside Robin. She clapped her hands with enthusiasm. "Oh, I forgot how many glorious sounds and sights are present in this wonderful place!"

"Speak for yourself," Raven muttered, glaring at the insistent sun. "The last thing I need is any amount of sunlight." She hid her arms beneath her cloak, trying to protect her ashen skin from the burning rays that came from the burning ball of fire in the sky.

"Don't be such a downer, girl!" Bumblebee clicked her tongue with disapproval. "You can't enjoy the day without going outside! It's beautiful weather you're experiencing right now." She glanced at the jogger they had encountered moments ago and grinned. With a mischievous look at Cyborg, she proclaimed, "Although, I'd say that runner over there is going a little too slow for my pace. In fact, I think that everyone here would be a little too slow. Especially you, Sparky," she added, elbowing Cyborg. "With all that metal weighing you down, I'll bet that I could circle this park twice before you could even get one foot off the ground."

"Wanna bet on that?" Cyborg challenged. Bumblebee, sensing her bait had been taken, zipped down the path with Cyborg at her heels. Shaking her head, Raven walked into the heart of the park, searching for a shady tree to read her book and relax underneath. Robin, Starfire, and Beast Boy followed her, each with a particular goal in mind. Robin was still feeling exceptionally guilty for the lie he'd told Starfire, and he now sought to make it up to her. How, he wasn't yet sure, but the very least he could do at the moment was apologize.

"Um, Star?" he began, but got no further for Starfire had just caught sight of a field of flowers positioned in the center of the park. With a happy cry, she flew over to the meadow and knelt beside a scarlet rose. Smiling, Robin followed her, placing the apology in the back of his mind for later. Left all on his lonesome, Beast Boy realized suddenly that all the previously available candidates for his friends who would play with him were now occupied. He frowned. Cyborg and Bumblebee were racing, Robin and Starfire were inspecting flowers, and Raven was reading a book under a shaded tree. As she currently seemed the least occupied -in his opinion anyway- Beast Boy headed the empath's direction.

Placing his hands behind his back, he smiled wide, hoping that she wasn't in an off or irritated mood. "Hey Raven!" he greeted cheerily. "How would you feel if I asked you to play a quick game of Frisbee with me?"

"I would feel like saying no," Raven replied, her nose in her leather-bound book. "It's bad enough that I'm in the park. I don't want to go out in the sun and get burnt because I was playing with a stupid Frisbee." Beast Boy pondered the problem for a moment, and then, with a click of his fingers, morphed into a green dog, picking up the red Frisbee in his mouth that he'd been holding behind his back. Wagging his tail hopefully, he stared up at Raven with wide puppy eyes. She paused in her reading. "Fetch?" Beast Boy, his tail picking up speed, dropped the Frisbee on the ground in front of her. He nudged against her hand with a cold nose, whining. "Fine," Raven groaned, having endured his begging long enough. She lifted the toy and flung it half-heartedly out on the grass. With an invigorated bark, Beast Boy sprinted after the Frisbee, pouncing on it in the adorable way that only puppies can pull off. He crouched down, growling at the plastic object, his ferocity betrayed by the vicious swishing of his tail and the playful light in his green eyes. Eventually, he seized the toy in his teeth and, ears flopping, trotted back to Raven who was trying to find a way to deny that all of what she had just witnessed was cute.

Panting, Beast Boy dropped the Frisbee on the ground beside her again. Raven reached out to retrieve it, but paused when she noticed the drool coating the plastic. He'd been chewing on it like it was bubblegum. She glared at him. "That is disgusting," she opined, levitating the Frisbee. With a flick of her finger, she flung it across the park, and, barking, Beast Boy raced after it. He returned several minutes later, and, after a few more tosses which sent him running to the other side of the park like a child who had heard an ice cream truck, eventually grew exhausted. His tongue hanging out of his mouth to the side, he collapsed on the grass alongside Raven and rolled onto his back so that his feet were hanging above him.

"Finally tired?" Raven inquired, once again mostly indulged in her book. Beast Boy pawed the air. "What, you want me to pet you now?" she asked. Beast Boy barked at her. Rolling her eyes, Raven scratched his furry stomach, running her slim fingers over his green fur. Beast Boy's tongue hung out from the side of his mouth, and once Raven found just the right spot, his leg suddenly jerked uncontrollably. He turned over on his stomach, closing his eyes and leaning into Raven's hand. She glanced at him, and then, focusing on her book, continued to stroke his soft back. A little ways away, Robin and Starfire were sitting underneath a different tree together, talking.

Starfire ran her fingers over the soft pedals of the speckled orange flower Robin had given her. "What was it that you said this flower was called?" she asked.

"It's called a lily," Robin answered, rubbing his arm.

"It is very beautiful," Starfire observed.

The young leader scratched the back of his neck, blushing. "It… reminded me of you," he confessed. Starfire looked at him with warmth in her eyes. "I mean, y-you know," Robin stammered, embarrassed under the gaze of the stunning alien princess. "Because I think you're also… uh… very… uh… pretty," he finished lamely, blushing a bright red. Sure, when faced with some of the strongest super villains he always had the perfect clever remark up his sleeve, but when it came to Starfire, he was tongue tied. Starfire, familiar with his awkwardness involving relationships, smiled gently and took his hand.

"Thank you, Robin," she smiled. "I think you are quite attractive as well." She meant it with the best intentions, however strange her words might have sounded.

"T-thanks… Star," Robin stuttered, looking into her gentle emerald eyes. He wished desperately to be better with expressing his feelings, and, as had been proven in the past, it took him forever to even admit to them. At least Starfire knew how he felt about her now, unlike before when he'd accidentally kept her guessing. He regretted that he'd been so busy throughout the tower lately and that he and Starfire hadn't gotten much of a chance to spend time together. "Uh… So," he said, changing the subject but not releasing Starfire's warm hand, "talk about anything interesting last night? How was your first sleepover?"

Starfire dropped her gaze to the lily in her lap, stroking a single petal between her thumb and forefinger with her unoccupied hand. "It was most enjoyable," she replied, remembering the deal she had made with the other girls. She wanted to know the color of Robin's eyes very much so, but now she regretted her decision to try and get him to take off his mask. She should not have said she would do such a thing, let alone consider it, but if she did not complete her task now then she would have to do the chore or the dare given to her. The question was, would it be worth it to invade Robin's privacy for such a simple, foolish challenge? Robin noticed her brooding mood.

"Are you alright?" he asked, touching her arm.

Immediately she perked up. "Of course Robin! The sleepover was most entertaining!" the girl answered honestly. "I particularly cared for the fight of pillows, even though we were not victorious, and I do look forward to our next sleepover in the weeks of two." Robin nodded, glad that she seemed alright, though he did wonder about the momentary lapse of happiness from her.

"You know you can tell me about anything that might be bothering you," he told her quietly.

Starfire looked up from her lily. "Of course, Robin, but nothing is bothering me right now." She smiled, shy, and placed her head on his shoulder. "I am quite at ease." Suppressing the tremble of heartfelt emotion that ran through his chest, Robin rested his cheek against her soft hair. He'd missed small things like this that spending time with her could bring.

Just behind them, Bumblebee and Cyborg slow to a halt in their race, Bumblebee a few feet in front of her competitor. They were both dripping with sweat and breathing heavily, their chests rising and falling as they sucked in air.

"Ha-," Bumblebee gasped, leaning over, "I… beat you, S-sparky!"

"By like… two inches!" Cyborg retorted as best he could due to exhaustion. "And only because… you have wings!" He took a giant breath and then collapsed on the ground with a thud that shook the earth, chest still heaving. "Ugh, I'm not doing that again."

"You and me both," Bumblebee admitted, sinking to the ground, pressed up against the side of a tree. Two children, a boy and girl who were presumably brother and sister, ran over to Cyborg.

"Look!" the girl squeaked. "A robot man!"

"Is the metal real?" the boy questioned, poking a finger against Cyborg's shoulder. His little eyes grew wide. "Are you the Cyborg man Titan?"

"That's right," Cyborg replied, pointing at the air but not getting up. "I'm Cyborg, the heroic, undefeatable… Teen Titan." He let his hand drop back to his side. "Listen, I'll give ya'll my autograph later, but right now I'm recovering from racing… er… fighting a horrible monster." He paused, glancing at the siblings. "Who eats little kids who don't behave their or listen to parents by talking to strangers," he added, smirking. The two kids squealed and ran off, doubtless to hide behind the very parents they didn't listen to. Cyborg grinned. "Yeah, that's right. Ya'll had better run…" Once he at last caught his breath, he got to his feet and glared at Bumblebee. "I don't know how it is that I keep getting roped into these competitions of yours."

"And losing," Bumblebee smirked, crossing her arms. She stepped away from the tree, fluttering her wings to stretch them out. "But hey, I've noticed that the more I hang out with you, Sparky, the better shape I keep getting into. Want to go another round?"

Cyborg shook his head, determined not to let her get the best of him this time. "No, you won't pull me into another challenge of yours. I've had enough."

Bumblebee shrugged. "Fair enough. And as for me, there's always that saying about quitting while you're ahead. Although," she added, "you've never been ahead of me, so I don't think I have anything to worry about."

Cyborg stared at her, biting his tongue. He knew she was only baiting him. He had to be stronger than that and end the rivalry somewhere, at least for today. Finally giving in to his competitive spirit, he huffed and faced the path again. "I bet that I'll be able to get to the other side of the park before you can!" he exclaimed, and then took off running. Bumblebee smirked and flew after him. The sun made its journey across the sky quickly with more of Cyborg and Bumblebee's races and contests enduring throughout the day. Eventually they called peace when both of their stomachs grumbled, and the two split up to fetch the other team members, Cyborg heading to Starfire and Robin, and Bumblebee retrieving Raven and Beast Boy.

Raven was in the final gripping chapter of her book and didn't notice Bumblebee's arrival until she was standing right above the empath, blocking her light. She glanced up at the taller girl, a witty retort already on the tip of her tongue but stopped when she caught Bumblebee's expression. Bumblebee didn't even try to stop from cracking up with laughter at the sight before her, even though Raven had no idea what was so funny.

"What?" Raven asked curtly.

Bumblebee wiped her eyes with the palm of her hands and caught her breath. "Enjoying the book, Raven?" she chuckled.

"Yes…?" Raven replied, confused. Bumblebee finally took pity on her and gestured to her side. Raven looked down and saw to her alarm that her hand was rubbing Beast Boy's back, now fully and completely human. With a cry of surprise, she jerked her hand away and scrambled away. Beast Boy, blinking awake from his deep sleep, opened his eyes to see Bumblebee hooting with laughter and Raven glaring at him with furious eyes. His ears dropped in terror.

"Uh… What's the matter? W-what happened?" he asked, his voice shaking. Was it possible that he was so accident-prone that he did something wrong while he was asleep? Raven growled, her face surprisingly scarlet, and clutched her fingers into a fist. Before she could do any damage though, Bumblebee placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Aw, let it go, Raven," she insisted. "He was asleep and you were distracted. I'm sure it was an accident. Well, probably," she added, snickering. Raven growled, but the black aura enveloping her fist dispersed, and she stood.

Beast Boy scrambled to his feet. "Uh… What happened while I was out?" he asked, hesitant to bring up the subject, but too curious for his own good. "I didn't get enough sleep last night, so I was in a pretty deep nap."

Raven didn't look at him, only turned away. "Be glad that you don't know, otherwise I'd have to knock the memory out of you," she uttered, lifting up her hood. Beast Boy frowned. She hadn't helped suppress his interest, but after such a critical threat, he thought it better to leave the subject alone. Snatching up his Frisbee, he ran after Raven and Bumblebee who were meeting up with the rest of the group.

"So," Robin said, his hand entwined with Starfire's, "are we all ready to go home now?"

"Hang on," Bumblebee interrupted. "Let's get something to eat." She glanced at Cyborg. "Pizza maybe? I'm thinking an eating contest?"

"Oh, you do not want to go down that road with me," Cyborg cautioned, patting his stomach. "That's one challenge I will _always_ win."

The other Titans nodded in agreement. "It's true," Beast Boy concurred, placing a hand on his friend's metallic shoulder. "When we were up in the Artic, he beat Gnarrk!" Cyborg shrugged as if saying _'What else should I have done'?'_

Robin interfered. "As much fun as that sounds like it could be, we should be getting back to the Tower. If you remember, the main room is still filled with many, _many _pillows that need to be cleaned up."

At the mention of chores, Bumblebee seemed to find that she was no longer hungry. Glancing over her shoulder at the sun, which was ever so slightly beginning to sink toward the horizon, she started to inch away from the group. "Ah, well, while that sounds… um… really boring, actually, so I think I'm gonna head out-."

Cyborg snatched her arm as she was trying to sneak away. "Oh, no you don't. You were a part of making the mess, and you'll help clean up! You're not leaving before then!"

Bumblebee gave him a playful smirk, leaning toward him. "You sure there's not some other reason you'd want me to stay, Sparky?" Cyborg's face was one of puzzlement, but before he could say anything, Bumblebee's communicator buzzed. Irritably, she snatched it up, flicking it open as Starfire and Raven exchanged slightly amused glances. The Titan's East leader glared at the person who had called her. "What?!"

Aqualad was on the screen, his expression bewildered but underlined with an emotion similar to guilt, confusing the onlookers. "You said you would be back today."

"I got side-tracked. What, it's not okay that I want to hang out with my friends here or something?" Bumblebee demanded, placing one of her hands on her hip. "You guys drive me nuts sometimes. Did it ever occur to you that being the only girl in a tower filled with all guys can really gross me out? Let me be with other people once in a while."

"Okay, okay." Surprisingly, Aqualad gave her a hint of a smile. "Why don't you take another day over at the Titan's tower then? You sound like you'll need it."

"You bet I do," Bumblebee muttered under her breath. She was in reality very glad for this opportunity. Now she could spend more time with Cyborg and finish her part of the bet before anyone else. She was about to sign off when a different voice came from the communicator, one accompanied by words that set Bumblebee's teeth on edge.

"Did you tell her about the computer?" Speedy's voice whispered.

"Be quiet! I'm not signed off yet!" Aqualad hissed back.

Bumblebee's face turned a shade darker. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!" she shouted into the speakers. Aqualad and Speedy both jumped at the sound of the sudden anger in her tone, and Aqualad must have dropped the communicator because the screen went black. Bumblebee grumbled something beneath her breath, tromping off a little ways from the other Titans. As she was distracted, Beast Boy decided to take this opportunity to ask a question that had been driving him a little nuts.

"Hey, Rae?" he began, and the dark girl's indigo eyes slid over to him. Beast Boy scratched the back of his neck. "You're not… mad anymore, right?"

Raven observed him for a moment. "I'm not mad."

Starfire couldn't help but ask. "Why would friend Raven be angry?"

"Yeah, Raven!" Beast Boy exclaimed. "That's what I'd like to know! Even I have a hard time annoying someone when I'm asleep!"

"Didn't I tell you that you should be _grateful_ that you don't know?" Raven growled, crossing her arms and turning slightly away from him. "If you don't know, it's like it never happened."

Beast Boy gave an exaggerated sigh, throwing his hands in the air above him. "But it obviously did or you wouldn't be so mad! And you know that I'm a really curious person! You can't leave me hanging like this, Raven!" Robin and Cyborg, now interested in this conversation instead of Bumblebee's -which really consisted more of her yelling in the communicator rather than having a discussion with her teammates- tuned in. Raven's anger always was more interesting anyway, especially when aimed at Beast Boy.

Starfire was still confused. "Please Raven, what has Beast Boy done to make you so upset?" Raven looked at her, her mouth tightening, and suddenly Starfire seemed to understand, if not exactly what had occurred but why Raven was reacting the way she was. The alien princess lifted a hand to her mouth, quieting a light giggle. "Oh," she said softly. "I understand."

"WHAT?!" Beast Boy turned to her abruptly. "Please Star, you gotta tell me!"

Starfire shook her head, her fingers still hovering over her lips. "I am sorry friend Beast Boy, but I do not truly know what happened between you and Raven."

Beast Boy stared at her with his mouth wide open. "B-b-b-but-!"

"Starfire." Raven summoned her friend to the side and began quietly speaking to her, the words too softly for even Beast Boy's sharp ears to pick up.

Cross, the shape-shifter looked at the other two boys nearby. "Dude, do girls have some kind of mindreading powers that we don't know about or what? Maybe they're blinking at each other in Morse Code?"

Robin placed his hand on Beast Boy's shoulder from behind. "I'm lost too, Beast Boy. Don't worry, you're not alone."

"But dude! It's not you that they're talking about!"

Cyborg approached the green teenager. "Think about it this way, man. You've got two pretty girls talking about you in secret so others don't know what they're talking about. There's gotta be something good you can make of that."

Beast Boy scratched the tip of his ear. "Hm. I guess." He shoved his hands in his pockets, kicking at the dirt and trying to force himself to not to eavesdrop on the two girls. A minute passed, and if one had looked at him they might have thought he had insects in his pants he was so antsy. Cyborg laughed at the sight, and Beast Boy glared at him. "Shut up, dude! I'm trying to be patient!"

"Oh, that's what you're doing?" Cyborg snorted. "I thought you just really had to go to the bathroom."

Grumbling, Beast Boy brushed past his robotic friend and pulled Raven and Starfire apart. "Alright, enough secrecy! What's going on?!" Almost as if on cue, Starfire burst out laughing, trying in vain to stop her giggles while Raven's expression was hidden beneath the shadows of the hood. Beast Boy was very tempted to pull it down just so he could get a hint at what she was thinking by reading her reaction, but he thought against it at the last minute. Raven was already mad at him for reasons unknown, and the shape-shifter decided it was better that he not irritate her anymore. He was saved from considering any other possibly rash decisions by Bumblebee's arrival once again.

"Robin, you've got to teach me how you keep such a good handle on your team," she grumbled. Robin smirked. Considering what he'd just witnessed, it didn't seem like the handle on his team was as great as Bumblebee thought. "It turns out that Speedy and Aqualad were arguing over the aspect of sushi, and somehow or another they started wrestling and smacked into the computer. I gotta go back and see if I can figure the whole thing out." She smiled at Cyborg. "At least looks like I got out of picking up pillows, huh Sparky?" Cyborg rolled his eyes at her. Bumblebee glanced at the others, catching everyone's expressions including Raven's stoic face, Starfire's joyous, and Robin and Beast Boy's confused, and placed her hands on her hips. "And what exactly is going on here?"

Beast Boy spoke up immediately like a tattling child on the playground, glad that someone who knew the answer might help him out. "They won't tell me what's going on!"

Bumblebee looked to the girls. "Is it about…?" Raven gave her a curt nod, and Bumblebee snickered. Beast Boy walked over to a tree and hit his head against it several times.

"You have got to be kidding me," he moaned into the bark.

Robin walked over to him. "You know, I'm actually beginning to consider that suggestion you had about the mind reading," he stated quietly.


	4. Bottle-A-Rang

**I know I say this every single time, but you make me glow with happiness at the wonderful comments you leave. Thank you all, and a special thank you for those who continue to review every chapter. It gives me the drive to update more.**

**Now, I don't usually do this, but I don't have any other way to contact this reviewer. Thank you very much Ronove72 for the kind words and encouragement, and I do actually hope to write a book of my own one day. I'll just have to come up with an idea.**

**Okay, enough chit-chat! On with the story!**

* * *

"Where on earth are we goin' to store all of these pillows?!" Cyborg cried, peering around the mound of cushions he held balanced in his arms. His electronic eye zoomed in slightly on Raven who was standing in the middle of the main room, levitating pillows onto the tower that Starfire was building. "You obviously didn't think this through, Raven."

"You forget that I was not one who suggested the sleepover in the first place," Raven replied in her monotone voice, elevating a yellow cloud-shaped pillow onto Starfire's pile. "I only wanted the pillow war to make it more entertaining."

Cyborg shifted, keeping an eye on the cushions in his arms. "Well, that still doesn't solve the problem as to where we are goin' to store all of these things."

"Dude," Beast Boy said from where he was wrestling with the pillows stuck underneath the couch, "we live in a _tower_. Just toss them in some empty room and forget about it!" He grunted, falling backwards as one of the cushions came free.

"That explains why your room is in the state that it is," Raven responded with a roll of her eyes. Beast Boy frowned at her, throwing his pillow in the empath's direction but missing by a large margin.

Starfire appeared thoughtful. "Perhaps we should do the 'giving away' of the pillows?"

"Charity?" Robin approached, holding a few pillows he had retrieved from various locations, including under the table and behind the fridge. "Not a bad idea, Star. I doubt we'll ever have much of a need for this many cushions again anyway, and charity sounds like a good plan compared to just throwing them somewhere in the tower and forgetting about them." Nearby, Beast Boy huffed. As the team continued to clean the room, Cyborg's communicator buzzed. He attempted to reach for it, nearly dropping his pillow tower as he did. The robotic teenager cleared his throat at Raven, who, with a pointed exaggerated sigh, took his communicator and opened it to face her teammate.

"Hey Sparky."

Cyborg lifted an eyebrow, adjusting his grip on the cushions. "Whatcha callin' for, Bumblebee? Didn't you just leave?"

The teasing in her voice was easy to hear. "What, can't I call you simply because I miss you?" Cyborg smirked.

"Only because I know that's not the real reason," he replied. "What's up? Can't fix the computer?"

"You read me like a book, Sparks." Bumblebee sighed. "Those two _destroyed_ it completely and I have no experience in fixing such advanced electronics. It doesn't help that part of it is stuffed with sushi. Think you could come over to the Titan's East tower? Our T.V. broke too and all these useless boys have no idea how to fix it. We need some real men here. I figure you'll have to do."

"Well, we're pretty busy in our tower right now," Cyborg stated, glancing over his shoulder at Beast Boy as the shape-shifter attempted and failed to juggle five pillows at once. "But then again, I can probably sneak away."

"Great!" Bumblebee exclaimed. "I'd swear our tower is falling apart at the seams. We really need some good help over here, and maybe you could teach the hopeless boys over here how to do something instead of breaking stuff in their spare time." In the background, someone -most likely Speedy- could be heard grumbling, "Well it's not like we broke the television. That's what happens when _you_ throw my mirror and comb at full strength into the screen. _You_ should be the one to fix it." Bumblebee disappeared from the screen and quick silence filled the air, suddenly followed by a loud "OW!" from the communicator. And then, "Do you want me to throw YOU into the T.V.?! Then shut it and go fix the problem!" Cyborg and Raven glanced at each other, Cyborg smirking slightly. Bumblebee returned. "Ahem. Sorry about that. But I'm sure you've had to put up with your team members getting on your nerves before, right Sparky?"

Raven decided to make her presence known. "And who would those people be, Bumblebee?" she questioned, angling the communicator so she could see the Titan's East leader.

Bumblebee's surprise was in plain sight, and she grinned guiltily. "Oh, hey Raven… Didn't see you there…," she coughed.

Raven narrowed an eyebrow. "How do you think Cyborg was holding the communicator? With a third arm?"

"It's not like it's impossible," Bumblebee laughed. Her eyes fell on Cyborg once more. "Alright then Sparky, I'll see you in a few hours." Her screen blacked out, and Raven snapped Cyborg's communicator shut, giving it back to him. The robotic teenager shrugged.

"Well, looks like I've gotta go! Have fun with the pillows!" he grinned, proceeding to toss the enormous tower of pillows to Raven. She only had enough time to widen her eyes before it came down on her and she was buried beneath the avalanche of cushions. A moment after Cyborg had exited the room, Raven stood up, just her head and shoulders sticking out of the ocean of pillows. She was about to open her mouth with a retort when Beast Boy, having noticed what happened, suddenly leaped forward and dove into the pillow sea, waving his arms back and forth and making a pillow angel next to Raven. The dark girl sighed.

"Is not the point of picking up pillows to make the room cleaner?" Starfire asked curiously, peering at the two with interest. "Why did friend Cyborg drop his on the floor?" Her eyes brightened. "Is this the game of potatoes of hot?"

Beast Boy sat up, scratching his head. "You mean hot potato?"

Raven realized what Starfire had in mind, and she held her hands out to the taller girl. "No, don't-!"

It was too late for Starfire to register Raven's warning, for she had already released her grip on the cushions, and once more Raven was submerged in pillows, this time with Beast Boy for company. The two emerged, Beast Boy grinning wildly and Raven clouded with irritation. Robin turned around from where he was retrieving a pillow that had somehow ended up in the cabinets and was met with the sight of more pillows swamping the ground than there had been a second ago. One could almost see the question mark form above his head.

The leader set his sights on Starfire. "Um, Star? Why did you…?"

"Was I not supposed to drop the pillows?" the alien princess asked with pure innocence.

Beast Boy laughed, tossing a few in the air. "Dude, that was awesome! It was like a painless avalanche! Let's load you up and do it again, Star!"

Aggravated, Raven sighed, putting her chin into her palm. "Why do I even bother?" she muttered.

After explaining to Starfire that she didn't need to drop all of her pillows the next time she was balancing them, Raven relayed to the rest of the team what had happened with Cyborg and how he was going to help Bumblebee fix her computer and television. With that mystery solved, the teenagers started over with their task of loading Starfire up with pillows once more. Because of Cyborg's absence, the chore took longer, but eventually the team was nearly finished with only a few piles more of cushions to deal with. It was around then that Robin's communicator rang.

"Cyborg?" The Titan's leader was surprised. "Didn't you leave only a half hour ago?"

"Yeah man." Cyborg's voice was muffled with static interference. "But I should have checked the weather report. Have you guys looked outside recently?"

Robin frowned. "No, but it can't have changed much since this morning." As he spoke, Robin looked over to the window, suddenly stopping as he saw the weather outside. "Or maybe it could have," he corrected, staring with wide eyes. The sky was heavily overcast with dark clouds. Small, dancing flakes of snow fell from the sky, sticking to the glass and side of the tower, and a cold wind whistled against the walls. "Isn't it early October? We don't usually get snowstorms until December," Robin declared.

"So you see my problem," Cyborg stated. "The pod I took from the T-ship couldn't make it through the weather and I had to land, and now I think the engine's frozen. Think you could pick me up? I'm sendin' you my coordinates."

"Sure Cyborg. We'll come and get you."

"Great." Cyborg suppressed a shiver. "And bring my winter jacket!" He signed off, and, snapping the communicator shut, Robin turned around to face his teammates. Starfire was attempting to keep all the cushions from falling off of her while Beast Boy had approached Raven, a small pillow in his hands.

Raven caught sight of him drawing closer and faced the boy, crossing her arms. If he thought she was in the mood for pillow fight, he obviously didn't know her well enough. Luckily for the shape-shifter, that wasn't at all what he seemed to have in mind. Beast Boy had a miniature, dark scarlet, square-shaped pillow in his hands, and, with a smile, he held the velvet cushion out to the dark sorceress. Raven received it, regarding the object with little interest. "And what are you giving me this for?"

Beast Boy grinned. "Nothin'. It's just a gift from my hands to yours. Plus," he added with a bright smile, "it's squishy!" He demonstrated, taking the pillow from Raven for a moment and squeezing it between his hands. "And therefore fun to play with!"

Raven was feeling extremely lucky that it hadn't squeaked, and, as he handed it back to her, she expressed her feelings on the situation. "If I recall, you were not the one who bought this pillow; Starfire and I were the ones that had to go shopping. It was a far from pleasant task."

"Then you deserve to hang onto it!" Beast Boy smiled. "Payment for having to go shopping!"

"Uh huh." Raven rolled her eyes, doubting she would ever find a use for the pillow. Her bed was already comfortable enough, and the little pillow in her hands was probably too small for anything except hitting someone with it, which was exactly what the Titans had done with the soft object before.

Robin interrupted the two. "Well team, Cyborg needs to be picked up. He got stuck in the snowstorm, so it looks like we're going to have to put a halt on cleaning up the pillows."

"Are you serious?" Raven closed her eyes. "At this rate, we'll never finish." It was too late, however, for Starfire had already let go of all of the pillows. With a sigh, Raven began unburying herself once more. "When I said we were doing a pillow war, I never expected the cleaning up afterwards to take up so much time," she sighed.

"Hang on," Beast Boy said, a confused expression on his green face. "It's snowing?"

* * *

Fifteen to twenty minutes later of slow and low flying through heavy precipitation, the Titans reached Cyborg's coordinates. Sure enough, the orange pod was visible, buried beneath a quickly forming pile of white snow. A few feet away, a small, run-down house could be seen. As the T-ship landed, Cyborg exited the building and waved at them quickly to come inside, which all the teenagers did hurriedly after leaving the ship. No one wanted to be outside in such cold weather for longer than necessary. Upon entering the house, the freezing group could see that the whole place was a one-room structure, empty save for a small fireplace in the corner and a few windows on the walls.

Once inside, Cyborg's first words to the team were, "Did you bring my coat?" Robin handed it to him, and, as the teenager threw it over his arms, he stated, "Thanks man. I may be half robot, but that doesn't mean I'm immune to the weather." Cyborg glanced at Starfire. "Unlike Star over there who doesn't seem to be the least bit frozen."

Starfire smiled. She was wearing a light purple jacket, one made specifically for fall instead of the winter. "Tamaraneans are not immune to the cold," she explained, "though we are quite resistant to chilled weather."

"Lucky," Beast Boy shivered from his spot in between the alien princess and Raven.

"You said before that your pod's engine might be frozen?" Robin questioned Cyborg, rubbing his hands together to create friction to keep warm. While the building was warmer than outside's temperature, that didn't mean it wasn't cold inside either.

"If it wasn't before, it sure is now. I tried to start the pod several times before you arrived and even then it wouldn't even respond. I think we'd better get goin' before your guys's engines freeze too," Cyborg suggested. However, it seemed like their plan was not to be. After numerous attempts to get the T-ship to run with no results, the team rejoined back together inside the house.

No one said anything at first as cold as they were –save for Starfire who stayed outside to try and start the T-car again- and it took them a few minutes to even think of doing anything else except warming up. Eventually, Beast Boy spoke up."There was only a _twenty_ percent chance of _thunderstorms_, right?! Not cool, weather people dudes!" he complained through his chattering teeth.

Raven rubbed her arms, glancing at him. Her hood was pulled up to keep her ears warm. "Since when do you listen to the Weather channel?" Cyborg and Robin looked up quickly; they had heard the weather when they'd been trying to eavesdrop on the girls' sleepover. Thankfully, Beast Boy thought fast.

"Since… Since the weather is doing what it shouldn't be! And it shouldn't be snowing right now!" Beast Boy exclaimed, and then quickly changed the subject. "How are we going to get home?"

"That actually is a good question," Robin interrupted, glad to take over before Raven asked anything else about the weather channel. "I don't believe Starfire is having any luck with the T-ship. We could always try having her use her starbolts to heat it up, but that could also destroy the vehicle. I think we're going to have to stay here and wait the storm out."

"Any other alternatives?" Cyborg asked, disliking both options that Robin had proposed.

Robin shook his head. "Unless you can think of anything…"

"What about calling someone else for help?"

"That doesn't seem like a good idea," Robin replied. "Only if you want to trap all of the Teen Titans we know out here in a snowstorm, I wouldn't suggest it."

"Alright, alright. We can wait for the storm to pass. I'm gonna call Bumblebee to tell her why I'm not gonna get to Titans East tower today." Cyborg pulled out his communicator, walking a little ways from the group so he could talk to Bumblebee without competing to be heard. As he was calling, Starfire came in from outside, accompanied by a cold draft.

"I apologize, my friends," she sighed, closing the door behind her and setting down several large pieces of timber near the exit. "I could not get the engine jogging in the least bit, but I did manage to find some wood outside. I hope these will be useful."

"Great idea, Star!" Robin grabbed a few logs and placed them in the fireplace. Thanks to Starfire's powers, he was able to get a fire up and running in no time and soon all of the team was huddled around the source of heat.

"So," Cyborg began, his call long since finished. After a few minutes in front of the fire, he was at last beginning to feel the cold seep out of his body for good. "What do ya'll think's up with this house? It seems weird that it's just out in the middle of nowhere."

"It's probably haunted," Beast Boy grinned through his chattering teeth.

"Or," Robin frowned, holding his hands out to the fireplace, "the house is probably someone's from a long time ago who doesn't live here anymore, like a farmer or rancher, although the building is a little too small for that," he added thoughtfully. "It might be someone's summer house." He was feeling quite comfortable now, seeing as the heat from the fire and Starfire's position at his side had warmed him considerably.

"You think that for a summer house it would be nicer."

"Ah, stop complaining Beast Boy," Cyborg shook his head, crossing his legs. "At least there's a fire in here now, unlike before when I was waiting in the cold and dark while you guys were coming to pick me up."

"That doesn't mean I'm not cold! I can't help it!" Beast Boy hugged himself, trying to keep what warmth he had close to his body. Looking at the others, he could understand why he was the least heated. Being the smallest and skinniest, he had little body mass to hold onto his heat, and everyone else looked like they had something that helped keep them thawed out. Robin had Starfire who was leaned against his side and keeping him warm. Starfire herself was cold resistant, and Cyborg only had half the body to get cold as the other half was metal. Knowing the robotic teenager, he probably even upgraded his systems to hold a built-in heater in his arm. Even Raven had it better than Beast Boy. Her cloak looked like it would be nice and warm, especially noting the layered edges of her fabric. Beast Boy knew that he could always shape-shift into something with fur, but right now even that seemed like it would take too much energy and somehow make him colder in the process. Beast Boy obviously wasn't thinking straight, as changing into an animal would be the perfect way to warm his shivering bones, but the cold must have been numbing his brain. "Don't we have some blankets somewhere in the T-ship?" he whined, adjusting his position once more.

"You know, now that I think about it, we might," Robin realized. He placed his palm against his forehead. "That's right! After meeting Red Star, I realized we should always have extra blankets stored away, so I put a few under our seats along with some survival food."

"What, no pillows?" Beast Boy joked despite his discomfort due to the low temperature. "Bet you wish we have all those pillows back in the tower now, huh Robin?" Robin exhaled. On his other side unoccupied by Starfire and a little further away, Raven shifted her position a little, running her hands up and down her arms to warm her skin.

"Well then, it looks like we'll need a brave volunteer to defy the cold and go get our supplies," Cyborg announced, wringing his hands together. "I vote Starfire!" Beast Boy nodded in agreement quickly, but before Starfire could move, Raven got to her feet.

"I actually forgot something in the ship; I'll go get our things as I pick it up," she said. This seemed fine to the others, especially Robin and Starfire as both had not been looking forward to moving away from one another. A few minutes passed, and at last Raven returned with the blankets and food. Beast Boy quickly snatched up one of each, throwing a fuzzy blue blanket tightly around his shoulders and stuffing some jerky into his mouth. Raven rolled her eyes, beginning to pass out the rest to her other teammates, and soon everyone was clustered near the fire, wrapped in thick, warm blankets, and snacking on what food they had.

With a sigh of relaxation, Beast Boy stretched out on his back, glancing at Raven and Cyborg who were seated next to him. "Well, I'm bored. Let's do something."

The other exchanged glances. "I don't see why not," Cyborg stated, brushing his hands together to get the crumbs off of his fingers. "It's not like we have anywhere to be. Whatcha got in mind, BB?"

"Truth or Dare!"

"You came up with that idea fast," Raven observed, throwing a wrapper into the fire and watching it crackle into glowing dust.

"Well yeah," Beast Boy replied, rolling over onto his stomach and looking at her. "I figured that at that sleepover you girls must have played a lot, coming up with plenty of great dares so you can actually stand a chance against me this time!"

"But we did not play the game of dares and truths," Starfire informed him honestly.

"And if I remember, you're terrible at Truth or Dare," Raven added with a smirk. The team had only played Truth or Dare once before, and -like many other teenagers eventually discovered when participating in the game- it had gotten out of hand. When they were finished, Cyborg had orange juice in his joints, Robin was crossly sitting on the couch in pink underwear, Starfire was staring at scissors with a new-found fear, and Beast Boy was vomiting in the bathroom. Even Raven had suffered from the game, and she found that for weeks following she had difficulty just looking at tofu. Needless to say, no one felt like a winner, and no one suggested replaying the game for a long time afterwards, but that had been nearly two years ago and Beast Boy was determined to try it again, this time without retching.

"We've only played once!" Beast Boy defended himself quickly. "And I'm more experienced now, so I know what I'm doing!"

Cyborg looked like he agreed with the idea of trying the game again, and since Starfire did not have an opinion of Beast Boy's suggestion, Robin and Raven were the ones left with doubts.

Robin considered the proposal for a minute or so, at last agreeing with the sentence, "Alright, but just as long as it doesn't get out of hand again."

Beast Boy turned his head to Raven, the dark sorceress's expression one of stubbornness. "It's either that or spin the bottle," Beast Boy teased. Starfire brightened at this idea, but what Raven said next dashed her hopes.

"We don't have a bottle," the empath stated, quirking an eyebrow.

Beast Boy thought for a moment. "Then… spin the… shoe?" He made as if to take his sneakers off.

"Or I could just not play at all," Raven retorted hastily before Beast Boy could completely take his shoes off and have the rest of the team swoon because of the stench. "There are no winners in Truth or Dare if you ask me. Or spin the bottle. I have no intention of looking like a fool participating in either game."

"Aw, why not?!" Beast Boy cried, shoving the shoe back on his foot.

Starfire spoke up quietly. "Actually friends, I would not mind trying to play the bottle spinning game." She blushed, emerald eyes slipping to Robin. Robin caught her glance and reddened himself. His hand lifted to scratch the back of his neck.

"It doesn't sound like too bad of an idea…," he mumbled. Raven lifted an eyebrow, crossing her arms. Apparently her leader was easily swayed by the idea if Starfire was involved. Robin had his eyes on the beautiful alien princess, eyes darting away every few seconds so no one would notice. Seeing as he was one of the sharpest detectives in the world, he would have been disappointed in himself to know that everyone else in the room had already seen who his focus was on.

Raven crossed her arms. "Fine, but don't expect me to play. And don't make me say I told you so when you realize there is more to this 'game' than you've thought through." Beast Boy's ears drooped, and a pathetic whine came from his throat, but Cyborg's large hand got a grip on the back of his shirt and the shape-shifter was pulled into the game.

Taking placement of the bottle -since Beast Boy's shoe was vetoed due to the threat of its stink knocking out the participants- the substitute was one of Robin's bird-a-rangs. There was a chip in one of the ends that would act as the front of the bottle. The rules were simple. If, after rotating, the chipped end pointed to someone, the spinner must kiss them. The Titans were gathered into a circle as their leader set the weapon on the ground, Raven seated on the edge of the group. True to her word, Raven wasn't involving herself in the activity, but she did hover over Beast Boy's shoulder to watch. "Alright, who's going first?" Robin asked, gesturing to the now deemed "bottle-a-rang".

Beast Boy and Cyborg exchanged looks, smirking. "Well, bird boy," Cyborg chuckled, "I say you should go first. I mean you've only been stealing glances with Star over here for the last five minutes." Robin flushed red. He hadn't been _that _obvious, had he?

Clearing his throat, the boy reached out for the bottle-a-rang. "Well, I guess if no one else wants to…" A smile flickered over everyone else's faces, and the boy spun his weapon around. Beast Boy's eyes suddenly widened.

"Um, wait a second guys…," he started. "I don't think we thought about-." The green teenager didn't get a chance to finish before the bottle-a-rang came to a stop. Cyborg and Robin paled simultaneously. Beast Boy grimaced. "…That." Cyborg swallowed, looking quite sick as he peered down at the bottle-a-rang's chipped edge pointing toward him. Coughing, he reached out and not-so-subtly flicked the bottle-a-rang to the side. It rotated a few times before landing on Beast Boy. Again the boys paled, but Cyborg quickly recovered with, "Your turn, BB man."

"Y-yeah." As the green teenager twirled the weapon, Robin found himself suddenly thinking that this might have been a very bad idea. If he wanted to kiss Starfire, he didn't have to involve himself in some game to do so. Robin took a little comfort, however, in knowing that none of the boys had any desire to kiss one another. He frowned, realizing that since Starfire was the only girl playing, she would be the most likely to be kissed by several boys. Robin mentally slapped himself. He _really _hadn't thought this through.

Beast Boy's spin eventually came to a stop, landing on a space in between himself and Robin; it was exactly the place where Raven was seated. Starfire's eyes lit up as Beast Boy faced the darker girl with a small smirk. Upon seeing his expression and the position of the bottle-a-rang, Raven blanched. "W-what are you looking at?" she stammered. Her gaze hardened. "I'm not playing, remember?"

Cyborg chuckled. "I dunno, Rae. The bottle-a-rang has spoken. You gotta listen to the bottle-a-rang."

Crossing her arms, Raven turned on her friend, secretly grateful for the distraction. "Really? Why didn't you listen to it when it landed on Beast Boy earlier? Or when Robin's spin landed on you?"

Robin cleared his throat. "Uh, hey, let's not bring that up again."

Beast Boy took no time in siding with his leader. "Yeah, no joke, dude."

Wanting to continue with the game, the sole person that the bottle-a-rang had not landed on yet reached forward, whirling the weapon around. Starfire sat back, fiddling with her fingertips as four sets of curious eyes fell on her. She smiled shyly, a gentle blush settling on her cheeks. The bottle-a-rang came to a stop, and the teenagers looked down to see it had become stationary, pointed in the direction of…

Raven.

Raven sighed as the boys looked at her with wide eyes. Leaning forward, she grabbed the bottle-a-rang in two pale fingers and jerked it to face Robin. Smirking at the astonished and embarrassed expression on her leader's face, Raven inclined back into her spot.

Realizing Raven's intentions, Starfire looked at Robin. Usually so quick-minded, he had not yet seemed to grasp exactly what Raven had in mind, and so, before he comprehended the objective of her actions, Starfire slipped her hand into his. The leader turned to look at her curiously, and Starfire tipped forward, lightly pressing her lips against his. She lingered there for a moment, and then moved back, though staying close enough for him to keep eye contact with her. Robin, now entirely scarlet but not caring in the least, found himself gasping for breath as he gazed upon Starfire's too blushing face. "Uh-uh, wow, Star, that was- I mean, uh- you really-."

Raven smacked him over the back of the head.

Robin rubbed the forming sore spot with his hand. If that was how it felt when Raven hit someone, he couldn't help but be grateful he wasn't a villain. Or Beast Boy. "Thanks Raven."

The darker girl was emotionless. "You shouldn't be thanking me."

"Right." Robin returned his attention to Starfire, reddening slightly again upon seeing the beautiful Tamaranean. "T-thanks Starfire." Nearby, Cyborg rolled his eyes. Robin was no good at relationships. He'd just been kissed by one of the most gorgeous girls he knew and responded with a simple thank you? Then again, at least he hadn't said anything stupid in response. At least not yet. The boy was very lucky that Starfire was so patient and understanding.

"You are welcome, Robin," Starfire nodded, brushing a scarlet lock of hair behind her ear. Robin swallowed, wondering how such a simple action was able to make the girl appear even more stunning.

"So," Cyborg jumped in, clapping his hands together, "since Starfire's luck seems to be… the _best_ out of all of ours, she should go again."

Robin drew back quickly, rubbing his neck. "Ah, yeah. Let's go again."

Cyborg could help but resist ribbing his friend. "Are you sure? You seem pretty satisfied. Haven't you heard of quitting while you're ahead?"

Robin glared at the robotic teenager. "Yes, Cyborg, I have." He looked to Starfire. "Go ahead."

Starfire hooked the edge of the bottle-a-rang with her finger and sent in spinning. Slowly its blurred, revolving form came to a halt, sliding past Robin and barely landing on Beast Boy who seemed to be sulking for reasons unknown. However, when the bottle-a-rang aimed, in his direction the shape-shifter's ears pressed back against his head with surprise. His mouth dropped open only to contort into a grimace of some sort. His eyes darted to Robin, and then, almost too quickly to follow, to Raven, finally landing on Starfire. Beside him, Raven waited with an unreadable expression, though she couldn't help but feel her spine stiffen slightly.

Robin delicately plucked the bottle-a-rang from the floor, folding it back into his belt. A breath of relief originating from several mouths filled the air. "Then again… Let's try something else."

Beast Boy immediately perked up. "Truth or Dare!"

Raven exhaled. "You really still want to play that? Have you not learned enough from the last game?"

The green teenager tried to look sad, but he couldn't stop a smile from brightening his face, surprising the onlookers. "I hardly got to play! Not that I wanted to with the ones who the bottle-a-rang landed on," he added, "but you know."

"No. I don't," Raven replied coldly. She had to wonder just why he had wanted to play in the first place, especially since he didn't seem interested in the people who the bottle-a-rang had landed on. Actually, the same could be said for Cyborg. Raven rolled her eyes. The most logical explanation was that they hadn't thought things through, jumping into a situation without considering the consequences that could come from it.

Beast Boy held his hands out in front of him in a pleading position. "Pleeeaaassseee, Raven?" he whined.

"It would be most fun if you joined us in the games of Dare and Truth," Starfire added, scooting closer to Raven to set her pleading eyes on the darker girl and unintentionally including Robin and Cyborg in the game, though neither protested. It seemed like a better option than spin the bottle-a-rang anyway.

Raven found she was no match for the power combination of Starfire and Beast Boy's puppy eyes, and finally she gave in with a deep sigh. "I suppose," she grumbled, causing both of the insistent Titans to grin happily at her agreement. Beast Boy was about to ask for a high five from Starfire -which probably would have only confused her- when Raven held up a finger. "But on one condition: We get to have a pass for one truth and for one dare. I'm sure everyone sees a good side to that." Everyone indeed could, and if approving her rule was going to get Raven to participate, then the team was all too happy to accept the proposition.

And thus the game began.

* * *

**Spin the bottle(-a-rang)? Truth or Dare? I'm _so_ original! I'm going to try to take a bit of a different path on Truth or Dare though, so we'll see how that goes. Hope you liked it!**


	5. Truth or Dare

**As always, thank you all so much for the favorites and reviews! I can't believe how many follows I've gotten already! And for those of you waiting for Flinx, I'm sorry they've been absent as of late. Either next chapter or the one after that I promise to involve them more. After all, Jinx still has to complete her part of the deal, right?**

* * *

The team had to agree that it was already off to a better beginning than their last Truth or Dare session. The teenagers started by testing the waters, giving each other small dares and truths, something simple like, "Lick your elbow," or "What is your favorite food?" Yet, such caution was not going to last long, and eventually the one who broke such a streak of such modest challenges and questions was the one who suggested playing the game.

It was Cyborg's turn to receive the truth, and Beast Boy had thought up something that he believed to be ingenious, or in the very least better than his previous truths. "What was the last lie you told?" the shape-shifter questioned, lifting a green eyebrow at his friend. So sure, it wasn't particularly impressive, but it _was_ stepping over the line of caution.

This got Cyborg thinking. He'd told many-a-fib in his time, but most were to preserve someone's feelings or defend his own. However, upon remembering the latest lie he'd told, the robotic teenager blanched; the event had been yesterday night when Raven discovered the boys wrestling in the hall. Technically Cyborg hadn't been the one to fib about getting a midnight snack, but he'd been involved and that was close enough. Beast Boy had no way of knowing that - either that or he hadn't thought it through- but the shape-shifter was asking him to reveal exactly what the boys had been trying to keep secret from the others. Cyborg paused. Maybe Beast Boy _had _remembered that was the last lie Cyborg told and was trying to get him to use his pass! The robotic teenager concentrated hard on the problem at hand; there had to be some way out of this.

Twiddling his thumbs unconsciously, Cyborg slowly answered. "The last lie that I told… was in reference to… something about food… and um, observing some people… doing… stuff."

Raven groaned. "Well, _that _couldn't have been more specific." She looked at Beast Boy, expecting him to protest Cyborg's answer, but the shape-shifter had realized what his friend was talking about and quickly dropped the subject. However, the fuse had been lit, and Cyborg now turned on the little green teenager.

"Alrighty BB, it's your turn," he smirked. Beast Boy looked confused, not knowing why Cyborg was targeting him, but responded swiftly.

"Okay dude." Beast Boy leaned back, cracking his knuckles. "Dare me!"

Cyborg silently huffed. He'd been anticipating truth. Still, he could use this to his advantage. Thinking back to the conversation that had taken place in the very hall he and the other male Titans had fibbed last in, Cyborg chose a dare. "Okay man, here it is." The teenager leaned forward, resting an arm on his knee. "I dare you to tell us who you've got a crush on."

Beast Boy cringed. He hadn't been prepared for those type of questions to come up so fast, and Cyborg had even altered the dare question into something of a truth. The shape-shifter bit his lip, glancing around the room. Starfire looked genuinely curious, which didn't really help Beast Boy feel any better, and while Robin was distracted, the boy wonder was growing increasingly interested as the green teenager in question didn't respond. Cyborg was busy grinning evilly, and Raven, though her expression was all but hidden beneath the dark hood, had her eyes set on his with something that could almost be read as concentration. Beast Boy swallowed.

"Pass."

"Ah _what?!_" Cyborg exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. Even Robin seemed disappointed judging by the drop of his shoulders and expression that suspiciously read of apathy. "Come on, man! You can't do that to us! We're on the edge of our seats here!" Beast Boy stayed silent, although a small smirk crept onto his face. Cyborg groaned loudly, only to be interrupted by Robin who was watching the shape-shifter of the team with narrowed eyes.

"Why?"

This question caught Beast Boy off guard, and his ears twitched nervously. "What? What do you mean _why_ dude?"

Robin crossed his arms, feeling more convinced that he was accurate with his assumption as to why Beast Boy didn't answer. The green teenager's reluctance only confirmed such expectations. "Why don't you want to answer, Beast Boy?"

Again, Beast Boy avoided answering directly. "Seriously, what is it with you guys wanting to know this stuff?" Starfire and Raven looked at each other. The boys had had conversations like this before?

Cyborg suddenly chuckled, his voice vibrating the wooden floorboards below the Titans. "Yeah, BB, why _don't _you answer? Is the person you _love_ in here?"

Beast Boy tightened his shoulders up, clenching his fists. "Dude! I never said I like anyone at all!"

"But you do." Surprisingly, it was Raven who spoke up; she wasn't one to usually get involved when these kind of conversations started. The dark girl's low voice was enough to silence the entire room, and for a moment no one spoke. The quiet whistling of the chilled wind outside gusted against the walls, causing the internal boards to creak.

At last, Robin spoke. "Uh, what do you mean by that, Raven?"

Raven set her sights on her leader unflinchingly, waiting in silence for a second more before answering. "It seems obvious that he likes someone, or he wouldn't be denying it so outright. There's no argument here if you ask me." Raven actually hadn't meant to speak aloud. She's simply been observing something that she'd just realized. His ears were red, a reaction Raven had taken note of in the past when he was embarrassed, and his shoulders were hunched like he was trying to keep any prying eyes from reading what was on the inside. Besides the external reactions, Raven's empathetic powers sensed heated waves of affection brushing off of him accompanied by gentle brushes of embarrassment, though that was to be expected. Upon hearing her words, Beast Boy crossed his arms.

"I'm not responding to that. It's on a related subject to the first question," he muttered. "According to the official rules of Truth or Dare, it's not allowed."

Raven lifted an eyebrow at the word _official_, folding her arms over one another as well. Cyborg chuckled. "Wow, that sounded really almost intelligent. You must really not want us to know!" he exclaimed, scooting forward.

"Leave him alone," Raven cut in. "It's obvious he won't answer, so just move on with the game." She was beginning to get irritated. It wasn't as if she'd wanted to be involved in the activity in the first place. The idea of dropping out suddenly seemed appealing to her.

Cyborg's electronic shoulders reflected the fire as he angled his body to face her. "You know Raven, I thought you out of everyone would want to know the most."

Raven's eye twitched. "And why is that?"

"Well, it's not like BB's into Starfire! She's taken! And as the only other girl in here, it must be you!" the teenager exclaimed as if his statement made any ounce of sense. Starfire and Robin shifted, feeling awkward. How had they gotten drawn into this?

"That doesn't mean she's not an option," Raven stated slowly, rubbing her thumb against her index finger, keeping herself in check. "Plenty of boys like girls who are in relationships already."

"Yeah!" Beast Boy piped up, unwisely reentering the conversation.

"Does that mean you like Star then?" Cyborg questioned mischievously.

As fast as he had come, Beast Boy recoiled, holding his hands out in front of him. "What? No!"

"Then you must like Raven!"

"Come on, dude! No!"

Starfire tried to intervene, approaching her friends. "Please, friends, I do not think that this-." Her words fell on deaf ears as the argument escalated.

"Just drop the subject!" Raven snapped, raising her voice. "It's not like it really matters!"

"It does too!"

"And why is that?" Raven demanded.

Cyborg frowned. "I'm curious!"

Beast Boy jumped in again. "Dude, Cy, this is getting way out of hand-!"

"Oh, come on-!"

"Dude, will you listen to-?!"

"If you don't quit-!"

"I dare Cyborg to stick his tongue to a pole!"

The teenagers halted in their spat to stare at Starfire. The alien princess closed her mouth, pressing three fingers to her lips as if she hadn't meant to speak. Even Robin seemed surprised at her outburst. Starfire lowered her hand, flushed. "I-I apologize my friends. The situation was… seemed to be… leaving the hand and… I did not think… I only meant to stop-." She pressed her lips together, staring at the dark wood floor underneath her feet. Robin placed a hand on her shoulder.

"No, it's okay Star. It was necessary if you ask me." Robin glared at the other three over his shoulder, each unwilling to meet his gaze. He squeezed Starfire's arm once in reassurance. "Thank you for bringing them to their senses."

Starfire dipped her head, still feeling embarrassed. "Please friends, this game is for one of enjoyment, not fighting. May we please continue?" Her teammates all nodded, and the girl gave a smile, shifting closer to Robin who spoke.

"So Cyborg, it seems as if you've got a dare waiting to be completed."

With a smirk, Cyborg glanced around the room, searching for a pole, and settled on the empty coat rack near the door. Pushing himself to his feet, the robotic teenager approached the stand, examining it as he drew closer. The dare didn't seem too hard, and upon thinking so, Cyborg stuck his tongue out and pressed it to the pole for a good ten seconds. After waiting a moment more, the Titan pulled away, relieved when he didn't stay connected to the metal. It seemed that it wasn't cold enough inside the building for it to attach.

Raven straightened, allowing her cloak to fall forward so it would cover more of her body and keep the warmth in. "Well, that was anti-climactic."

"Climate-what-it?" Beast Boy asked, rubbing a finger in his ear.

The empath rolled her eyes. "Never mind."

"Alright," Cyborg plopped back onto his spot, rubbing his hands together. "Now, I completed my dare, so I choose who gets to be truthed or dared next." He scanned over his teammates with his robotic eye, zeroing on who should be his next target. The robotic teen focused on Raven, and a wide smirk spread across his face. Raven saw the look and abruptly stood.

"I'm done playing," she stated. Her teammates stared at her.

Starfire was the first to ask, "But friend Raven! Why? You have not even used 'the pass'!"

"I didn't want to participate in the first place," Raven replied, the shadows of her hood concealing her expression. "And I don't want to be involved when it gets out of hand. Which I'm certain that it will."

"But it hasn't yet!" Beast Boy complained. "Don't quit playing! You haven't hardly even been involved!"

Raven turned from the group. "I'm just going to go to sleep. Goodnight." Grabbing a spare blanket, she paced to the back of the building and curled up in a corner, the heavy sheet wrapped around her body tightly. Her friends looked at one another, silent for a moment before Cyborg grumbled loudly.

"Well then, there goes my target," he muttered.

Robin, who had been quiet for a while now in his position behind Starfire, spoke up. He wasn't sure when he'd moved next to the beautiful alien princess, but the teenager really didn't mind. He also didn't mind that when he'd wrapped his arms around her, Starfire hadn't moved away, instead leaning back into his chest. "If you had been targeting her, it's no wonder that Raven left."

"But I hadn't said anything!"

"But you were going to," Robin prompted. Cyborg shifted his eyes to the side, huffing.

Beast Boy glared at his friend, shaking his head. "Good going, Cy. It took us so long to get her to play and then you chased her off!"

"Please, let us continue," Starfire interrupted before the two could start another argument. Robin smiled slightly, and Starfire glanced back at him. The alien princes had considered daring Robin to take off his mask, but it didn't seem like the right time. She didn't feel ready for that quite yet and didn't want to do it in front of the others, no matter how much she loved them all like family. Besides, she wasn't allowed to ask him outright according to the rules the girls made up at the sleepover. Starfire imagined that the reason Raven hadn't done anything about the sleepover agreement thus far was for similar reasons. No one else, to Starfire's knowledge, was aware of this, but Raven was more than a little nervous when it came to anything dealing with the area of affection, and, more than anyone, Starfire understood why the empath had left the game. Such knowledge, however, did not mean that the alien princess wasn't sad about her friend's departure of Truth or Dare.

"Okay, okay," Cyborg said, biting his lip as he considered his remaining options. "Uh, Robbie! You haven't done anything for a while! Truth or dare?"

Robin wasn't surprised. He had been lucky not to be the subject of attention so far and it had only been a matter of time before his turn came. During their first game of Truth or Dare, he had somehow been the immediate target of the others. Why, he wasn't sure, but it had resulted him in being the first one out. Since Raven had already left, even since it was by her own choice, Robin was already doing better than his first game. Since he was too comfortable to move, Robin chose, "Truth."

Cyborg considered this for a moment. "Uh… You sure you want to do truth?"

"Yes." Robin chuckled. "Okay, my turn over? I answered the question." Starfire hid a giggle behind her hand. Unable to think of a better truth, Cyborg shrugged, motioning for his leader to go ahead.

"Beast Boy," Robin called, drawing the shape-shifter's attention to him. The teenager looked up expectantly. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"You know," Cyborg interrupted before Robin could say anything, "since dare went so well for you before, I figured you woulda picked truth this time!" Like a child unable to come up with any other response, Beast Boy stuck his tongue out at the robotic teenager.

Robin waited for the two to finished and then continued. "My dare is for you to… stick your hand in the fire for ten seconds?" He was no good at coming up with these things, and it was the first thing he could think of. Smirking, Beast Boy stood up, and Robin added, "And while you're at it, add some wood to the fire." He might as well be useful while doing a pointless dare, Robin figured.

As Beast Boy completed the dare, Robin looked down at the girl in his lap. Starfire's eyes had started to droop, and sleep was beginning to overtake her. Gently stroking her hair, Robin bunched a blanket up and lowered Starfire to the ground, her head resting on the cloth. The Titan leader squinted at the window. The snow was still blowing, but it was slower and less powerful. Occasionally one of the snowflakes would sparkle, and it took Robin a minute to realize they were stars he was seeing through the snowstorm. The girls had the right idea by getting to sleep; it was getting rather late. By this time, Beast Boy had returned -rubbing his slightly scorched hand- and Robin addressed the remaining awake teammates.

"I think it's pretty dark outside. You guys wanna wrap up this game?" he asked.

Cyborg started, but Beast Boy let out a yawn. "Yeah, I'm for that, dude."

"Hey, no!" Cyborg complained. "I'm just getting warmed up!" At the mention of warming up, Beast Boy pulled the blanket he'd left on the ground back around his shoulders.

"Naw dude, I'm getting sleepy," the shape-shifter mumbled.

"Come on, man!" the robotic teenager insisted. "One more round! It's your turn to choose someone anyway!"

Beast Boy considered it, and then, shaking his head to wake himself up more, agreed. "Okay dude, last time. Truth or Dare?"

"Truth," Cyborg requested as easily as if he were ordering food at a fast-food restaurant, something he did often.

Beast Boy opened his mouth, about to ask his question, when Robin interrupted. "Actually Beast Boy, do you mind if I take this one?" When the shape-shifter looked at him curiously, the leader motioned for him to come closer. Upon whispering in his ear, a wide grin spread over Beast Boy's face, and the green teenager nodded.

Cyborg crossed his legs. "Ya'll ready or what? Or you just wanna announce me as winner now?"

"Right." Robin smirked, shaking his head. With a quick look at Starfire, and then Raven, still curled up in the corner, the Titan leader lowered his voice. "Before I ask you the Truth question, I've actually been meaning to ask you _both_ something," he whispered. Sensing the reveal of the secret that might be coming up, Beast Boy leaned in. Despite himself, Cyborg was interested as well. "Do you get the feeling that something is going on that we don't know about? With the girls?" Eyes still closed, Starfire shifted in her sleep, and the three Titans glanced at her. When she didn't move again, Robin focused on Cyborg again.

"Why do you say that, man?" the robotic teenager asked.

Robin narrowed his eyebrows. "Call it a detective's instinct. I feel like I'm missing something."

Beast Boy piped up. "Something about the girls' sleepover maybe?"

Robin shrugged. "I'm not sure. Something's off." He shook his head. "But I'm straying from what I was going to say before. Cyborg, do you like Bumblebee?"

Cyborg jerked back. "Whoa, man! Where did this come from?!"

Smirking, Robin replied, "Call it a detective's instinct."

"Ha, ha, ha." Cyborg snorted sarcastically. He crossed his arms behind his head. "But alright man, you got me. I like Bee."

Robin and Beast Boy, each expecting their teammate to put up more of a fight to hide his secret, were slightly taken aback. "Uh, what? Really?" Beast Boy asked.

"You know you could have used your pass," Robin reminded.

Cyborg shrugged. "Meh. I mean, ya'll are my friends. It didn't seem like it was necessary to hide it from you guys." He shifted his sights to Beast Boy, adding, "Unlike BB over here who will not tell us who he's got a crush on even though I'm pretty sure I already know who it is." Beast Boy shook his head, shooting his friend a dirty look.

"Nuh uh, I'm not going there again."

Robin seemed impressed by Cyborg's courage and trust to tell his friends, and he went as far as telling him so. "Well, I suppose I should thank you for revealing that to us, Cyborg. It must have been hard to do."

Cyborg tugged on his blanket with his thumb and forefinger, focused on the fabric. "Not really. I'm just not awkward like you when it comes to this stuff, Rob. It's easier when it's not super stressful, and then I get to laugh at other people who freak out about it." The mischievous robotic elbowed Beast Boy pointedly, chuckling when the shape-shifter huffed and tiredly rubbed his ribs. Addressing the two boys, Cyborg urged, "So that was seriously like your trump card? I was expectin' more of a challenge. Come on, give me another one."

Robin, seeing how Beast Boy was already fading and Starfire had long since fallen into a deep sleep, smiled. "Sorry Cyborg, it looks like you'll be the only one playing if you keep going. You can say that you win this way though," he added.

Cyborg liked this, folding his arms together and nodding. "Well, I suppose that's alright then. We didn't really have any great dares going anyway; we weren't in our element." Robin lifted an eyebrow curiously, and Cyborg explained, "The tower."

"Ah."

The three, having officially decided that they were too tired to do much more but sleep, started settling down for the night. Cyborg tended to the fire, and, as Robin shoved a sheet under the door to keep the cold from drifting in, Beast Boy grabbed an extra blanket to accompany his and approached the lone girl who had not moved from her place in the corner. Kneeling down beside the empath, Beast Boy softly touched her shoulder. He didn't want to wake Raven only for her to think he was an enemy or something and throw him across the room, so he tried to be as gentle as possible. His teammate stirred, her eyes widening for a moment before she realized it was Beast Boy who was crouched in front of her. Relaxing, Raven shifted her blanket up to her neck.

"What?" she muttered groggily. "I just about threw you… to the moon… Or somewhere in that vicinity."

Beast Boy smirked and jerked his thumb over his shoulder to the fire. "Everyone else is sleeping over there," he whispered. "Won't you be cold further away from the fire?"

Raven faintly shook her head, already succumbing to sleep again. "I don't think so. I'm fine." When Beast Boy hesitated, she turned from him, mumbling, "Go away, Beast Boy. 'm trying to sleep." Her eyes were already halfway shut by the time the words made it out of her mouth, so Beast Boy smiled at his friend and obliged. However, before leaving to head back to the fire, he took the spare blanket he'd picked up and draped it over the girl, placing it around her shoulders quietly to make sure he didn't wake Raven up again.

"Night, Rae," he whispered, and then turned, walking back to the rest of his team. His ears twitched and he swore he almost heard a barely audible breath in response. Unsure whether or not it was the wind, Beast Boy shrugged and crouched down at a place close to the fire.

Cyborg and Robin were already lying on the ground, the light from the fireplace sending strange shadows across the walls and over the teenagers. The moment his head hit the floorboards, Cyborg had been out and was now snoring quietly to himself, leaving Robin to feel grateful that the robotic teenager was more toward the edge of their group. Seeing Beast Boy return from his check on Raven, the leader of the Titans noted that all of his friends appeared to be safe. With a sigh, he allowed his muscles to loosen up. Sleeping in strange places was nothing new to the teen, but it never really got easier; the fact that his team, especially Starfire, was there with him in the unfamiliar environment helped the boy relax. Robin rolled over so he was facing the alien princess.

Being less cold than the rest, Starfire had but a thin blanket over her shoulders and the one other that Robin slipped beneath her head. She wasn't shivering, however, so Robin assumed she was fine temperature-wise. She was quite peaceful actually, sleeping on her side with hands limply rested by her head and breath soft. Still, despite her tranquil state, Robin couldn't help but worry about his girlfriend. The young leader blinked. He wasn't sure if Starfire was technically considered his girlfriend yet. After Tokyo not much had happened, though Robin supposed that was more his fault than hers. The spikey-haired teen tended to get wrapped up in working on crimes and clues, and he'd always been bad at the relationship stuff anyway, but somehow Starfire was patient and understood that. Whenever Robin started getting worried about what relationship they had, something small would happen to reassure the young man. This unintentional trip had been one of those uplifting occurrences. As quiet as a mouse, Robin threw half of his blanket over her body, simultaneously drawing closer to the girl. Hoping his hands weren't too cold, the Titan leader reached out and brushed a delicate strand of stray hair from Starfire's face. The alien princess stirred in her sleep, somehow shifting even closer to Robin, and smiled. Robin closed his eyes, the corners of his lips lifting upwards as well.

"Goodnight, Star."


	6. In The Early Waking Hours

"Hey Raven."

"Rrm."

"Raven, wake up." A pair of hands pushed against her shoulder. The empath didn't move.

"Guway."

"Raaaven."

"Gonna kill you, Beast Boy," she threatened unconvincingly.

Beast Boy shook his head, pulling the blankets off of Raven's shoulders. "Later. Robin wants everybody up." A draft of cold air swept over the dark sorceress's bare cheeks, and, forced into the waking world with a chilled shiver, she groaned. Opening her eyes, Raven peered through the gloom of the night to see, as suspected, Beast Boy hovering over her. The teenager had a surprised look on his face, and Raven suddenly remembered what she had been hiding under the thick sheets. Hurriedly shoving the small scarlet pillow that she clutched to her chest behind her back, Raven jerked the blankets out of Beast Boy's hands and shot him a death glare that dared him to say something about it. She threw one blanket into the corner so it covered the pillow, and, not even giving the shape-shifter a chance to speak a word, brushed past her teammate and to where Robin, Cyborg, and Starfire were gathered by a window.

Hearing Beast Boy scramble to catch up, Raven draped the blanket she'd held onto around her arms, making sure to keep from creating eye contact with the boy who had given her the very pillow she was trying so desperately hide. In truth, after he'd handed it to her, Raven hadn't thought to put the cushion back in her sleeping quarters or on the table in the main room, instead forgetting completely that she was holding it and only remembering when she was ten minutes into the flight to Cyborg's location. Seeing how cold she had been, every little aspect of warmth or comfort was appealing, and, against her better judgment, the empath retrieved the pillow along with the blankets and food she'd fetched for her teammates. Reluctantly Raven admitted to herself that the small cushion was quite comfortable despite its miniature size.

Robin spotted the darkest member of the team approaching and turned around from where he was speaking with Starfire. "I see that Beast Boy got you up," he observed, a hint of amusement in his expression.

"Much to my dismay." Raven wrapped the spare blanket tighter over her shoulders to keep in body heat. "What do you want?"

Directing the group to the framed window he and Starfire were hovering nearby, Robin pointed outside. The blowing snow had lessened considerably, and now light flakes spiraled in a soft dance to the ground, the occasional fleck landing on the glass pane to display its unique design. Raven was unimpressed.

"So you woke me up to see snow. Thanks," she said, sarcasm dripping from her words as she wrapped the blanket closer around her arms.

"Well… I guess you could say that…" Robin scratched the back of his neck when Starfire jumped in.

"But it is so pretty!" The alien princess floated up to get a better view, though that seemed unnecessary since she was the second tallest in the group and Cyborg was presently back by Beast Boy.

Robin smiled a tad. "Actually Raven, the reason I woke everyone up was to discuss if we were willing to move out now or wait until morning. There is always the chance that we could make it back home if we left now, but we could also try in the morning when the snow will have blown over, stayed the same, or gotten worse. I think that if we tried now, the T-ship's engine might start. However, if we do leave and get stuck, it's going to be very cold." He looked at the Titans as Starfire floated back to earth beside him. "I'm calling this a group decision. What do you think, team?"

Beast Boy shrugged. He wasn't against the idea of getting home and curling up in his nice warm bed, but staying in the current house out of the wind didn't displease him either. Mainly he just wanted to get back to sleep. Thus far he'd rested more or less peacefully save for a few shivering awakenings, but everyone was experiencing those.

Raven was the first to speak her opinion out loud, lack of sleep making her less and less compatible with her teammates. "I think that I'm too tired to care," she grumbled. Robin frowned. They were all sleepy, but his dark friend seemed the most difficult to deal with when she was tired. Then again, maybe he shouldn't have sent Beast Boy to wake her up.

Cyborg nodded thoughtfully. Presently he was the most awake, his ability to sleep on a hard floor comfortably providing assurance of a deep slumber. "Y'know, now that I think about it, Raven's kinda got a point, man. If we try driving in a state of mind like hers-," -at this Raven shot him a dirty look-, "-we might end up in the ocean on our way home. And besides," he added, "we'd have to split up if we decide to leave 'cause I still gotta make it to the Titans East Tower, and I'm not lookin' forward to driving through that alone in cold weather."

"You've got a point, Cyborg," Robin admitted. "I hadn't thought about that." He looked at Starfire and Beast Boy, neither having stated their thoughts on the situation yet. "Any objections to staying here?" Beast Boy shrugged again, and, when Starfire took Robin's hand and shook her head, the leader decided. "Alright everyone, get on back to sleep. We'll head out in the morning." Raven was already walking back to her corner before he finished the sentence, her fogged-over brain telling her to get more rest as soon as possible. Beast Boy turned his head toward her, shifting his weight from foot to foot. A strange, uncomfortable feeling settled in his stomach. The vegetarian jerky he had eaten earlier must be disagreeing with him. Who knew how long it had been in the T-ship, especially taking into consideration that no one ate vegetarian jerky but him, and therefore the few times they did buy it were few and spaced out by months. Seeing his green friend's antsy movements, Cyborg elbowed the shape-shifter, but when Beast Boy glanced back at him, his metallic teammate looked on ahead innocently, hands held behind his back. Ignoring the robotic teenager, Beast Boy followed after Raven into the corner of the building. With a low chuckle for the boy, Cyborg approached the fire once more for some much-needed sleep. Robin and Starfire hung behind.

Now alone, the two bashful teenagers searched for something to say to one another, but, finding nothing in particular that they could discuss, instead ended up sharing glances back and forth. After a while, Robin awkwardly cleared his throat and faced the window.

"So… Are you sure you're alright with staying the night here, Star?" he asked, shadows of the snowflakes casting over his skin.

Starfire touched his shoulder, leaning back into his chest and peering through the snow-covered pane at the landscape behind it. Robin was unable to fight the heated tremble that claimed him. "Yes, Robin," she replied softly. "I honestly prefer staying with you and our friends. I have had much of the fun." She slipped her hand into Robin's, and his other arm went around her shoulder. "And in what other way would we be able to sleep in the same room together without creating 'the rumors'?" she added in so quiet a tone that the leader of the Titans had to take a minute to realize and then process what she'd said. As he was doing so, and as the wide look crossed his face, Starfire pulled back from Robin slightly.

"Robin?" she questioned, and he moved his head toward her. "Did you mean to share your blanket with me? When I awoke I was quite surprised to find you…," she paused, blushing with a fragile hand on his chest, "…so close to me."

Robin's abdominal muscles tightened nervously. "U-uh, yeah, is that okay?"

Amazing him, Starfire sighed, her lips curving up in a beautiful smile. She entwined her other free hand with his. "It was a wonderful surprise, Robin. I enjoyed it quite so." The knot of worry in Robin's stomach untangled, and he glanced at the fireplace. Turning back to Starfire's curious eyes, the teenager tilted his head toward the heat source. "Come on; let's get warmed up." Fingers tightening in his, the alien princess obliged, and she and Robin quietly found their place together in front of the fire.

In the cold corner of the room, Raven seemed to have found herself in the unexpected and undesired company of a certain green teenager. The dark empath had just started to settle down, adjusting the blankets around her once more for warmth and to hide the pillow again, when someone's shoulder bumped against hers. Raven turned and saw, to her shock, Beast Boy looking back with bright green eyes and a grin on his face.

"What do you think you're doing?!" she demanded, pulling away from him to draw further into the corner.

Beast Boy was undeterred by her harsh tone. "Nothing much. Since when you grabbed your blanket earlier, you also took mine, so I figured we might as well share!"

Raven couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Are you serious?" When her friend only continued to smile at her, the girl groaned. "You're an idiot." Tightening all the blankets around her, Raven faced the corner. Beast Boy quickly grabbed her shoulder.

"Oh, come on, Rae! It's not that big a deal!" he exclaimed, making Raven whip back to face him.

"Shh!" she snapped. "Some people are trying to sleep!"

Beast Boy looked over the room. Starfire and Robin were cuddled near the fire together, neither sleeping and giving no intention of doing so. As he and Raven were over in the corner right then, the only teenager snoring all by himself was Cyborg. Still, Beast Boy didn't know what Raven was worried about. Cyborg's snorts in between his sleep-mumbles were loud enough to cover up any other noise, and the robotic teenager had always been a heavy sleeper. Beast Boy was about to say so, but Raven sighed impatiently, cutting him off.

"I meant me," she growled.

"Oh," Beast Boy realized, grinning sheepishly. Not wanting to leave quite yet, however, he was quick to change the subject to something he knew the dark girl couldn't ignore so easily. "So," he started, recalling what he'd seen when waking Raven up earlier, "you kept it, huh?"

Raven's impassive expression slipped for a moment before she recovered with a glare. "What are you talking about?"

Beast Boy only smiled harder. "The pillow I gave you. You kept it!"

Deciding ignorance was her best defense at the moment, Raven narrowed her eyes at him, taking on an air of confusion. "I have no idea what you mean."

"Really?" Beast Boy leaned closer to her, and Raven fought the urge to draw away, staying stubbornly immobile. "Then what are you hiding behind your back?" Suddenly the boy reached over her stomach for the small pillow, and Raven jerked away, rolling on her side so Beast Boy wouldn't see it although she already knew he was aware of its presence. Nevertheless, if the shape-shifter actually got a clear look at the little cushion she'd never hear the end of it. Beast Boy's hand brushed over her arm, trying to grab the pillow, and he unexpectedly stopped, pulling back. Hesitantly, Raven glanced at him, wondering what had halted the boy. Beast Boy was looking at her with concern. "Rae, you're freezing!"

Raven drew her shoulders together. "It's cold in here, and so is everyone else. What did you expect?"

Beast Boy didn't back down. "No, but Raven, you're _really_ cold! I mean, like icy! Have you been sleeping like that?" Raven just shrugged, wishing he would leave her alone so she could get some sleep. His close proximity to her was invading her personal space, and it wasn't helping that her cheeks badly wanted to blush.

Raven was pulled from her thoughts when two warm hands grabbed one of hers. She was so shocked that she couldn't even pull a witty retort out of her mouth, but Beast Boy didn't seem to notice her dazed silence. Nose scrunching up slightly in concentration, he rubbed Raven's hand in between his, making friction and heating up her skin. When he was finished with her left hand, he moved onto her right, and soon enough Raven's fingers were back to a normal temperature.

Raven managed to speak, suppressing the trembles that threatened to rise in her throat. "Uh… Thanks."

Beast Boy said nothing at first, frowning at her. It was obvious that his actions were not going to do much to keep the girl warm for long, and the shape-shifter's mind flickered to the thoughts of frostbite and hypothermia. Before, he had believed that Raven was warm in that cape of hers, but it looked like Beast Boy's earlier speculation was way off; Raven's cloak was not as heated as he'd assumed. An idea crossed his mind, and his mouth stretched into a bright grin. Raven was too busy trying to get her emotions under control to realize it until he spoke.

"You know Raven, you should be more careful," the green shape-shifter scolded her, shaking his finger in the air at his friend. His other hand still had hers in it, held up in the space between them. "Even with all these blankets, how hard would it have been to move over to the fire if you were cold?"

"I'm fine, thank you," Raven responded, wondering where he was going with this.

"Hm… Are you?" Beast Boy shook his head, touching her shoulder with his whole hand. "Nope, still freezing cold. Now what can you do to stay warm?" Raven's brow furrowed, trying to understand what he was saying. The obvious answer was to go over by the fire, but the empath suspected that her teammate had something else in mind. The question was, what was it? Beast Boy smiled as the girl's expression flickered in between confusion and concentration. Whereas Robin thought she was very uncooperative, the shape-shifter thought that Raven was a lot more entertaining when she was sleep deprived. Seeing as she had no idea what he was talking about, Beast Boy had to laugh. "Okay, okay. Here… I'll give you a hint." The shape-shifter swiftly grabbed a blanket and then proceeded to toss it over Raven's head. Raven groaned irritably, pulling the sheet out of her eyes, and stopped in surprise upon seeing a large, green polar bear at her side grinning back. Somehow Beast Boy had slipped behind her in the time she was removing the blanket from her vision, and now his furry body encircled the girl, his heat like a radiator.

"Beast Boy," Raven gasped, this time unable to fight the blush that colored her entire face. "What are you doing?!" The polar bear grunted, something similar to a smile on his maw, and tilted his head. Raven's eyes darted to where Robin and Starfire were leaned on one another in front of the fire, occasionally murmuring words in the other's ear. Neither was paying any attention to their purple and green teammates in the corner.

"This seems extremely intimate," Raven protested, all of her muscles rigid. Beast Boy lifted his enormous head, bumping the pillow that had found its way back into her arms with his nose, and then, closing his eyes, settled his chin on the floor. Raven pulled her blankets closer to her, resisting the urge to rap him on the head with the pillow she held, but instead hesitantly leaned back against the polar bear's fur. She hated to admit it, but Beast Boy had been right about her being cold, and the shape-shifter was surprisingly warm. With a defeated sigh, Raven turned on her side, shifting her fingers through the soft pelt she rested on, and let sleep claim her.

* * *

A gentle beam of light crawled across Raven's face, highlighting streaks of purple in her hair and warming her face. Blinking open her eyes to the sunlight, the girl exhaled, angling her head so her nose was tickled by several strands of green fur. In a vague moment, she remembered the night before and just who was underneath her acting as a heated mattress. Raven hastily pulled her head away, glancing about the room. Much to her relief, the other teenagers nearby were all fast asleep. Robin and Starfire were leaned on one another in front of the fireplace, warm coals casting a slight scarlet glow about the couple, and Cyborg had still not moved from his position on the ground, though his snoring had lessened considerably.

Beast Boy, aroused by Raven's movement, let out a long yawn and raised his large eyes to look at the dark girl seated next to his stomach. Raven subconsciously pulled her blanket tighter around her shoulders.

The two looked at one another for a small stretch of time, until, without warning, Beast Boy shifted back into his human form. Unbalanced, the empath nearly fell backwards onto him but just managed to stop in time. Taking that as a hint to move out of the way, Beast Boy crawled out from behind her and shifted next to the girl, pulling one of her blankets over his arms. He smiled a little, nudging her with his elbow, and his bedhead bounced slightly from the movement. "So, how'd you sleep?"

Raven shook her head at him. "Really?"

"Eh heh, sorry," he apologized. "But that wasn't so bad, right?" Raven reluctantly shook her head again. "You know…," Beast Boy started in a tone that made the dark sorceress antsy, "this was kinda like a sleepover! And it wasn't bad! See?! It's like we're having a sleepover now! And _you_ didn't hate it!"

Now that she was awake, Raven was able to come up with a good response instead of a delirious, sleep-deprived one. Wearing a small smirk, the empath replied, "That reminds me;you do know that I don't believe for one minute that you, Cyborg, and Robin weren't trying to get into the sleepover, right?"

Beast Boy froze, staring at her. His mouth moved on its own, opening and closing a few times before eventually twisting into a fake grin. "Uh… W-what?" In charge of the situation for the first time since the night before, Raven felt herself calming as the control returned.

"You know what I'm talking about."

"Uh, not really…" The shape-shifter hastily changed the subject. "S-so uh… You… brought the pillow with you, huh?" he stammered, forgetting that he'd used that topic as a distraction the night before.

Knowing that he was trying to sidetrack her, Raven rolled her eyes, not quite ready to allow Beast Boy to believe that he'd successfully diverted her attention. He had pulled that trick once already and the empath wasn't about to be caught off guard again. "I'll answer that statement when you respond to mine."

Beast Boy smirked nervously. "Fair enough." He leaned back, resting his head against the wall, and shifted the blanket covering them. Raven, usually so comfortable with silence, found herself in the need of a conversation. She wasn't sure why; perhaps it had to do with distracting her mind from the green teenager that had his shoulder pressed into hers.

Thinking back to yesterday's trip to the park that felt like it was months ago, Raven glanced at Beast Boy. "Do you transform in your sleep sometimes?" she asked.

Beast Boy returned her gaze curiously. "Yeah. Why?"

"I'm just wondering." The girl rubbed the edge of the blanket between her fingers. "Do you know why you do it?"

"Eh, not really." Shrugging, Beast Boy shook his head. "I've woken up in a bunch of different forms, luckily nothing big. It could do with a dream I had, or it could be something else. I never really thought about it. But it's not like I've tried to do it before; I'm usually asleep at that point," he joked.

Raven nodded thoughtfully. Silence threatened the air once more, and she was quick to find another subject. "I was… not cold last night. Thank you."

This topic seemed to please Beast Boy, especially since Raven was thanking him instead of yelling at him. "Yeah, it was no problem, Rae! You're not cold now, right?"

"No, I'm… fine, Beast Boy."

"Hm, that's what you said last night," the shape-shifter recalled. "I dunno…"

Raven sighed wearily, seeing where he might be headed with this. "But what about you?" she inquired, sidetracking her teammate. "You weren't cold?"

"With all that fur I had on and you next to me?" Beast Boy chuckled. "I doubt I could have been warmer." He paused, trying to recall what he'd been talking about before Raven preoccupied him. Much to the empath's dismay, he remembered. "Now, as I was saying, I don't know if I believe you when you tell me you aren't cold."

"Oh, the horror," Raven replied dryly.

Beast Boy shook his head. "Well, because you didn't tell us how cold you were yesterday, I now am assigning myself as the assignee person who makes sure you aren't cold," he declared.

"Really?" Raven crossed her arms with a doubtful look on her face. "Assignee person?"

"Yeah! It's a word!" the green teenager insisted. He wasn't sure if it was the right word, but it sounded close enough and Raven knew what he meant. "Alright, now let's see…" He took up her hands in his again, testing the temperature through his gloves. Raven just managed to keep her cheeks from flushing. "Okay, your hands are good," he determined with a decisive nod, moving onto her arms and running his fingers over her shoulders. A very slight scarlet tinge colored the bridge of Raven's nose. "And you're fine here," Beast Boy concluded. "Even warmer actually. You're warmer as I go up," he realized, and then adding jokingly, "Are you sure you're not hotheaded, Rae?"

"Not yet," Raven succeeded in replying. "But be careful what you wish for."

Beast Boy laughed quietly, at the same time shifting his hands to Raven's face. There, his palms touched her jawline and his thumbs ran over her cheeks, causing the girl to blush all throughout without any accomplishment at restraint. The smile wavered on Beast Boy's mouth, and his voice softened a margin. "You're good here too," he said quietly. The boy's breath subtly increased in pace, but Raven was too preoccupied to notice. She was so close to him that she found she didn't _have_ any air to breathe. Ever so faintly, she inclined toward her friend, and Beast Boy did the same, inching closer to Raven as cautiously as if he was approaching a scared animal. His hands trembled on her cheeks, and the motion traveled through Raven's body and down her spine. Beast Boy seemed to have a sudden surge of courage, and, dropping his careful restraint, leaned in.

Raven and Beast Boy jumped apart in surprise when Cyborg suddenly sat up on the floor, shouting, "NO, NOT THE WAFFLES!" By the fire, Robin and Starfire jolted awake, smacking their heads together by accident as they turned to see what was wrong. Both groaned, massaging the new sore spot on their foreheads. Raven was quick to stand and approach their robotic friend, Beast Boy following her at a slower pace and rubbing the back of his neck.

Cyborg blinked several times, his cybernetic eye whirring as the room came into focus. He lifted his head to see Raven and Beast Boy staring down at him, the empath wearing an impassive expression laced with confusion, and the shape-shifter dealing with a muddled look on his face.

Raven crossed her arms. "Did you say what I think you just said?"

"What did I say?" Cyborg asked, only half remembering his dream. Vague images of waffle irons standing atop the earth flickered through his mind; a recollection of the nightmare he'd experienced. He scratched his nose, trying to remember. "Was it something about waffles?"

"So I didn't dream that," Robin muttered as he helped Starfire to her feet. The alien princess glanced over her teammates, stopping on Raven. Her eyes lit up, but Starfire stayed beside Robin for the time being. The young leader looked out the window. "Well, it seems like it stopped snowing. Feel up for trying to head back?"

Raven attempted to ignore the strange emotions that were spiking off of Beast Boy. "Ready ever since I woke up."

Starfire nodded in correspondence, adding, "Yes, I am the ready as well."

Registering their replies, Robin addressed the male members of the team. "Cyborg? Beast Boy?"

Cyborg stretched his arms above his head, yawning. "Yeah man, I'm ready to get outta here. I'll call Bumblebee and then start the T-ship." Waving his hand at the teenagers, he swung open the door, and a consecutive shiver followed as the cold air washed over everyone in the room. Cyborg grit his teeth and ran out.

Robin began to gather their few things in his arms, such as blankets and leftover food, and then headed out after Cyborg, leaving Raven, Starfire, and Beast Boy alone in the room. As Starfire continued in Robin's example in cleaning up, Raven lifted an eyebrow at the green shape-shifter hovering near her shoulder. "Beast Boy."

The blank look in his eyes faded at her voice, and Beast Boy hastily looked up. "U-uh, yeah?"

Raven pulled up her hood. "We're leaving. Where have you been?"

"I-I'm not sure…," he admitted, scratching the back of his head again. He bit his lip, sights set on Raven, and had opened his mouth to say something when Starfire jumped in between them. She carried in her arms a bundle of blankets, and, wearing a light smile, the alien princess held them out to Beast Boy.

"Friend Beast Boy, would you be so kind as to bring these to the T-ship?" she asked him. "I would like to have 'the word' with Raven." Raven subconsciously tensed. What did Starfire want to talk about with her separate from Beast Boy? The green shape-shifter in question blinked as Starfire released her load into his hands, and, seeing no reason to refuse her request, staggered out the door under the weight. The moment the door closed, Starfire whirled to Raven, grasping the darker girl by the arms with an excited light dancing in her eyes.

"Friend Raven, I have the most wonderful news!"

Raven stared at her, possibilities as to what could have gotten her friend so enthusiastic racing through her mind. "U-uh, yeah, Starfire?"

The taller girl was practically jumping up and down. "Last night when you had left the game, I had started to fall asleep when Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy began talking about the sleepover we had, and Cyborg did the confession of liking Bumblebee!"

"Wait, what, really?" Raven asked skeptically, taking a moment to absorb the rush of information. "Really? When you were right there?"  
Starfire smiled, a little embarrassed. "Well, I had only begun to fall asleep and suppose they believed I was to be sleeping."

Raven shook her head in disbelief. "You're sure this wasn't a dream?

"Most positive!" The alien princess floated off of the ground happily. "How glorious! Oh, I cannot wait until we speak with Bumblebee! She will be most pleased!"

"Hang on a minute, Star," Raven said, halting her friend's enthusiasm in its tracks. The corners of her mouth lifted up a little. "We don't have to tell her. There are no rules about that in the agreement we made. And if we tell Bumblebee then she's sure to get a kiss; it wouldn't be fair to the rest of us." Her words created a pause in Starfire, and the alien princess slowly sank back to the ground, internally wrestling with the urge to tell her friend and the point Raven had. As if to convince her further, Raven added, "She would be so confident that she would just plant one on him without worry. Her not knowing is probably the only thing that's kept her from doing so thus far, and then we would be left to complete our tasks without any help from her."

Starfire wrung her hands together nervously. "I-I suppose you are correct."

Another thought occurred to Raven, Starfire's words catching up to her. "And why were the boys talking about our sleepover in the first place?"

"Oh, um…," Starfire put a finger to her chin, recalling the night before. "Robin had 'the feeling' that he was missing something and thought it might have to do with our sleepover." Raven frowned, storing away the information and creating a mental note to be more careful when it came to anything that dealt with the sleepover. Starfire clasped her fingers together, once again in an ecstatic mood. "But friend Raven, it took all I had not to do the joyous jumping at his words! And upon seeing you and friend Beast Boy this morning-!"

Raven froze, a strange, tingling sensation running up and down her body at the mention of her and Beast Boy. Forcing herself to take deep breaths, she shoved the next words out of her mouth. "Alright Starfire, calm down for a minute! First of all, if you ever breathe a word of what you saw with Beast Boy and I this morning to anyone, I will never forgive you. And second of all-," the dark girl's tone took on a hint of pleading, "-_what_ did you see?"

Starfire tilted her head slightly, the wide smile she wore bright in the dark building. "Once Robin and I awoke to Cyborg's shouting, I may have caught the glance of you and Beast Boy sitting in the corner together. Did you perhaps sleep beside one another last night?"

Fighting to suppress the relief she felt, Raven dipped her head. Starfire had not actually seen what the empath feared. "Not by my choice, but yes," she admitted. Starfire squealed with delight as suddenly the door swung open, Robin standing in the doorway. A gust of cold wind brushed over the girls, making them shiver, and the young leader shot them both strange looks before jerking his thumb at the ship.

"You girls got everything in the ship? The motor started right up and we're all ready to go. Cyborg already left to head over to the Titans East, and it's about time we get home."

Starfire smiled, moving toward Robin, but Raven walked over to the coals of the fire. "I'll put this out and meet you in the ship," she said. Robin nodded, closing the door and leaving Raven to herself. The empath poked at the dying coals with a broken stick, shifting ash over it and spreading the embers apart. Eventually finishing her task, Raven stood. Dusting her hands together to get the ash off her fingers, the empath glanced over at the corner where she and Beast Boy slept the night before. With a sigh, she approached it, stooping, and snatching up a small object off the floor. Slipping it within the folds of her cloak, Raven exited the small building, the little scarlet pillow hidden from the others' view.


	7. Meanwhile, Elsewhere

**This chapter is for everyone who's been asking for more Bee/Cy and Flinx. Sorry it took so long! I love all of your reviews (as always) and hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"Sparky! You made it!" Bumblebee exclaimed, flying over to him with a wide smile. "I was afraid the weather would have been as much of a problem this mornin' like it was earlier!" Cyborg hopped out of the small orange pod and approached the leader of the Titans East. The snowstorm had not reached their tower luckily, and, after a half hour or so of driving, the snow disappeared to leave lush grass in its place. Unhindered by the weather, Cyborg reached his destination soon after.

"How's it goin'?" Cyborg asked, smiling. "This place fallin' apart without me here?"

Bumblebee shook her head sadly, settling on the ground. "You'd better believe it. I swear the only thing that works right now is the microwave, and even that has got problems. It keeps blinkin' lights and making annoying bleepin' sounds."

"So, really nothing works?"

"Yep!" Bumblebee replied happily. "Looks like you'll be stayin' here for a while, huh?" She smirked, leaning up to him to poke his metal chest. "Hope that's not a problem."

Cyborg chuckled, cracking his fingers and looking up at the tower above him. "Hey, if it's broke, I can fix it. Show me where to start."

"Great!" Bumblebee drew back, taking to the air again with a buzz of her wings. They walked toward the entrance together, the Titans East leader chatting all the way. "So first you can deal with the computer. Those bozos in there destroyed it pretty bad, and there's somehow sushi inside the wires and metal and stuff. I think half of it is under the carpet too, so you probably should just build us a new one. Startin' from scratch would be easier, I figure. That way you can give us a buncha new updates on it too, Sparks!"

Processing all the information, Cyborg crossed his arms, drumming his fingers thoughtfully on the crook of his elbow. A new computer wouldn't be too hard unless he tried to make one like back at the tower. He remembered Bumblebee saying something about the television being broken as well, so that and the computer could take about three days. Depending on what else needed fixing, he added another day or two onto his estimate. Altogether, Cyborg's prediction was for him to be there about five days and two minutes, the two minutes being how long it should take to deal with the microwave.

Cyborg and Bumblebee entered the tower and walked up to the main room, halting to pry apart the doors that had mysteriously stopped working. As Cyborg strained separated them, he shot a curious glance at Bumblebee. She smiled back at him, shrugging. With a creak, the doors separated, and the Titans entered. Inside, the room looked worse than it had over the communicator. Wires dangled from the ceiling, there was a large flat screen television lying on the ground, and a large lump of metal clumped under the carpet, presumably half of the computer. Sushi covered the walls, or at least it was what Cyborg hoped was sushi. It looked like a tornado had hit, which might have been very possible with Más and Menos's powers. "So this is what happens when you're away from your team?"

"Not always," Bumblebee declared, strolling into the ops room alongside him. "Sometimes there are flooding problems. Not that I'm going to mention any…A-A-Aqualad," she coughed into her hand, and Cyborg smirked as she went on. "But they usually listen to me. I just guess that lately they've been cooped up for too long. We need a good bad guy to take out their energy or something." She paused. "Or a better workout room. Think you wanna help us out on that too, Sparky?" Cyborg chuckled, but before he could reply, the two were distracted from their conversation by a streak of red and white flying across the room, jumping above the lumpy carpet and knocking over the barely standing microwave. Más and Menos screeched to a stop, guilt flitting across the twins' faces as the machine's window cracked.

"What do you two think you're doing?!" Bumblebee demanded, zipping over to the two with her hands on her hips. She gestured to Cyborg. "We have a guest!"

"Senor Cyborg!" the twins exclaimed in synch, and in a flash they were right in front of the robotic teen, both shaking an enormous hand with him. "It is so good to see you!" they greeted with accented English.

Cyborg grinned, finishing the handshake and patting the two on their heads. "Nice to see ya'll too! Miss me?"

"Sí, sí!" Más and Menos laughed together. "Muy mucho!"

"Alright, alright, quit hogging the guest," Bumblebee interrupted, gently separating her teammates from Cyborg. "He's got enough work to do as it is because of you two. Unless you'd like to help him clean up?" The twins smirked at one another, and, grasping hands, dashed off. Bumblebee crossed her arms, shaking her head. "Figures. Well, don't worry, Sparky," she declared, facing the robotic teenager. "I guarantee you'll have at least one helper." She jabbed her thumb at her chest. "Titan Bumblebee at your service!"

Cyborg gave her a warm smile. "Good to know. Now," he said, turning back toward the center of the room, "I was thinkin' we should start with the-."

"I heard that Cyborg was here to help us out, but I had to see it with my own eyes to believe it was true." Aqualad and Speedy entered the room, grinning widely at the sight of their large friend. Cyborg chuckled, going over to greet the two and leaving Bumblebee behind him. The leader of the Titans East grumbled irritably beneath her breath and buzzed over to the small group.

"How's it going, Cyborg?" Aqualad asked, bumping fists with his fellow Titan. "What's it like back at your tower?"

Cyborg nodded, smiling. "Pretty good, man. Better than here, by the looks of it. Seems like you're fallin' apart without me, guys!" He motioned to Bumblebee who was now at his side. "You been givin' Bee a hard time, I hear?"

"Only a little," Speedy snickered, jumping a moment later to hide behind the robotic teen when Bumblebee reached for the stingers strapped to her side.

Holding up his arms, Cyborg smirked. "Hey, hey, now, Bee. Don't shoot the prisoner!"

"Not planning on it," she replied, her stingers crackling with energy. Still, the girl placed them back at her hips without taking a shot at Speedy. The archer looked relieved and moved away from Cyborg who was watching the whole thing with amusement.

"Now it seems to me," he started in an authoritative tone, "that this team needs to go through some group buildin' exercises!"

He expected this statement to be met with grumbles and groans, but instead Aqualad and Speedy just looked at him in curiosity and confusion. "What are those?"

Cyborg lifted an eyebrow, turning to Bumblebee. She caught his look. "Hey, I've tried! They just ignore me and start fighting about sushi or something!" This time it was the boys who suffered Cyborg's questioning glare, and they fidgeted uncomfortably.

"Well, I, uh, it just seems so boring…"

"I'd rather be swimming…"

The metallic man shook his head in disappointment like a parent would do to a child. "'Course it's borin', but that doesn't mean you can skip out on it! Alright, this is usually the schedule Robin gives us back at home. First, get up early in the mornin' about six o' clock, of course when no one but him and _maybe_ Raven is awake. Next, get your butts out to the weight room and wait about ten minutes while Rob rouses BB. After a quick warm up, head to the trainin' course, take a few runs -together or in teams- until Robin deems it enough, and then you can finally chow down breakfast before the next session of trainin' starts."

In all actuality, Cyborg was over-exaggerating about the roughness and exhaustion of the workouts. Yes, sometimes when Robin was irritated with his team he'd make them do just what the robotic teen had described, but it was a rare occurrence and very unlikely. Cyborg had only told the others about it to intimidate the Titans East. They needed to build up teamwork, and Cyborg was there to help one way or another.

"But being the nice guy that I am," he continued with a smile, "you don't have to do that. I'm just gonna have- err, suggest to Bumblebee- that you all run through your trainin' course once today." He looked to Bumblebee, and she nodded with approval.

"You heard him! Get going before I have to carry you there myself!"

Aqualad and Speedy scurried off to find the training course, calling to Más and Menos to help them locate their destination. Bumblebee had faced Cyborg, about to speak, when he smirked at her and shook his finger. "Ah-ah, Bee; that includes you too. You're as much a part of the team as they are. Now go and lead them! They'll need your guidance, especially since they have no idea where your training course is."

Bumblebee opened her mouth to complain, but then shut it and just smiled. "Alright Sparky, but I'll be back to help after I'm done."

As she flew off, Cyborg watched her go with a chuckle that created happy crinkles around his human eye. "Countin' on it."

* * *

"If he's the fastest kid alive, then why is he always late?" Jinx grumbled, checking her watch for the third time in the past five minutes. She rubbed her hands over her arms, warming the muscles there. The snow had taken as much of a toll on Keystone City as it had in Jump, and the temperature was so chilled that small flakes of frost formed in the air around the pink sorceress. "Kid, I swear, if you don't show up in the next ten seconds…"

"You'll kiss me?" Kid Flash skidded in front of her, smiling, but managed to stop on a sheet of ice and slipped. He fell on his butt hard, and, with a groan, looked up at his girlfriend. "Hey Slowpoke. Miss me?"

Jinx smirked, squatting on the ground beside him. "You know," she said, "I think that just made up for your being late." Kid Flash got to his feet, balancing carefully so not to fall again.

He grinned. "Sorry 'bout that. Hope you weren't too cold while waiting for me."

"I managed," Jinx replied, crossing her arms. Kid Flash took her by the hand and guided her into the restaurant they stood outside of. The sorceress glanced around the almost empty diner, breathing out as the heated air relaxed her body. It was a traditional café, one containing small booths and round tables decorated with warm colors. The door shut behind them, and a bell signaling their arrival chimed. "This snowstorm just came up out of nowhere. What's nature thinking?"

She and Kid Flash approached a booth, sitting on the same side next to one another with Jinx closest to the window. The speedster laughed lightly, putting his arm around her. "Well, actually I mighta had something to do with that."

Jinx massaged the bridge of her nose. "Of course you did. What did you do this time, Kid?"

"Well…" He stopped as a waitress drew near, a small blush on her face. She obviously recognized at least one of the heroes.

"Welcome," the waitress greeted, all eyes for Kid Flash. Jinx huffed irritably. This happened every time they went out together; she would have to convince the speedster to learn to cook homemade meals if this problem continued to come up. It didn't help that Jinx's boyfriend loved the attention.

"Hi," Kid Flash flashed a smile at the blonde waitress, and her blush deepened. "I'll have a caffeinated coffee. And my lady here will have…"

Staring straight at the woman with a pen and pad her hand, Jinx interrupted. "Decaf." The waitress opened her mouth, but Jinx made a "shoo" motion with her hand, and the woman drew away. The pink sorceress faced Kid Flash again. "You were saying."

Kid Flash laughed, making Jinx only glare at him harder. "You're so funny when you're jealous, Slowpoke."

She turned away from him, looking out the window at the snow-covered streets and muttering, "Maybe I wouldn't have to be jealous if you didn't bask in the attention so much."

"It's not my fault I'm so charming." Kid Flash cupped her chin in his hand, making her face him. Her skin darkened into a deeper pink shade, but Jinx continued to frown. The speedy superhero chuckled. "But Jinx, why do you still gotta be more adorable than me?"

"Pft," the pink girl rolled her eyes, but lifted her arms to his shoulders. "As if that's possible." Kid Flash placed one hand on her waist, pulling him up to his chest, and their noses drew closer together, but before the two could complete the action, they were broken by up a quiet cough. Jinx caught sight of the embarrassed waitress hovered nearby, holding two steaming cups on her round tray. She was blushing worse than the last time, and, mumbling an apology, the woman placed the coffee cups on the table, quickly retreating out of the heroes' lines of sight immediately after.

With eyes sparking magic, Jinx glared at the waitress until she could see her no more, and the pink girl exhaled, turning to her coffee and releasing her boyfriend. She took a big gulp. "Anyway, what were you saying about the weather being your fault?"

Kid Flash sipped at his caffeinated beverage, wiping the brown liquid mustache that resulted from it off his lip. "Oh yeah. Well, in short, it had to do with me dealing with some villain who had an ice snow gun thing just outside Keystone City and resulted in me kicking butt. But I guess their storm followed me into town without my knowing it." He shrugged, leaning back and putting his feet on the table. "Eh, it'll probably fade after a day or two."

"You've got to be more careful, Kid," Jinx sighed, draining the last of her coffee. How she'd become so talented at avoiding burning her mouth when it came to hot liquids, Kid Flash had no idea. "Who knows what could have happened because of this snowstorm?" she wondered, placing the mug on the table's surface and spinning it around.

"Never mind that," Kid Flash dismissed, putting his arm around Jinx's shoulders again. He tilted his head, looking down at his girlfriend, and removed his feet from the table. "Tell me about what you were up to while I was away. I remember hearing something about a sleepover?"

Jinx nodded a little, flicking the cup with her finger and watching her pink sparks dance over it. "It was as fun as a sleepover can be, you know?"

"What did you talk about?" Kid Flash played with her strands of hair a little, and then shot her a playful grin. "Anything involving me?"

"Maybe," Jinx teased, winking at him. She grasped his hand in hers, squeezing his fingers. "Wouldn't want to spill anything."

Kid Flash lifted an eyebrow, his blue eyes curious. "Oh really? Sounds like one heck of a party then." He touched his forehead to Jinx's, whispering, "Maybe we should have one of our own?" Jinx nudged him with her nose, gentle sparks jumping from her fingertips, and smiled.

"U-um, excuse me?"

Jinx growled as she and Kid Flash pulled apart. The poor waitress had a check in her hands, the paper trembling slightly as she lowered it to the tabletop. "I-I'm sorry," she apologized, avoiding eye contact with the couple, especially Jinx. Kid Flash, one arm still on Jinx's waist, glanced at the cost and pulled out a few bills. He grinned at the waitress, winking. "Keep the change. Sorry for any trouble we might have caused."

The money improved the woman's mood considerably, and with a light smile for the speedster, she took the check and disappeared behind the counter. With a frustrated groan, Jinx got to her feet, pushing Kid Flash out of the booth and storming out of the café. Kid Flash drained his cup as quickly as he could without burning his tongue, and then ran after his girlfriend. The door closed behind him with a soft jingle from the bell above.

"Jinx, hang on!" he called, sliding around her with a splash of snow. The pink sorceress crossed her arms, her mouth screwing up in a frown. Kid Flash winced. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I know! Enough of the flirting!" he berated himself, running his fingers down over his face. Despite the honest apology, Jinx was still mad at him, and she turned from the boy. "Jinx, please," Kid Flash touched her shoulder. "I'm trying; I really am."

She tilted her head up to look at the lamppost above them. As of now during the daylight hours, the light was off. A small layer of ice covered the bulb, and the metal pole was sheeted with frost. "How would you like it if I hit on every guy I laid eyes on?" she accused, huffing.

Kid Flash flushed, pushing a hand through his hair. "I would probably go crazy with jealousy," the speedster admitted. He slipped an arm around her stomach from behind, underneath her crossed arms, and placed his chin on her shoulder. "But that's why you're so strong," he reminded, his breath tickling her ear. "That's something you can deal with that's so hard for me."

"I shouldn't have to deal with it," Jinx declared, tone angry but already softening at her boyfriend's touch.

"I know. I'm really trying," Kid Flash exhaled, tightening his grip on her ever so slightly and nuzzling her neck. "But you know that you're the one who I love."

A mischievous grin crossed Jinx's face. All she needed was to give him a little push. She whirled around suddenly, pressing her hands against his chest. "Prove it," the pink girl challenged.

Kid Flash blinked, and then realizing what she meant, chuckled, cupping her jaw in his hand and lifting her head up to him. Before their lips could meet, however, Jinx paused. Kid Flash looked at her in confusion, following her line of sight. With a smirk, Jinx flicked her palm at the café. Pink light shot from her fingers, striking the snow overhanging the building, and it crashed to the ground, hiding the heroes from any prying eyes within. "So there are no more distractions," Jinx clarified, and then draped her arms around his neck. Kid Flash laughed, lowering his head, and his lips met Jinx's. The two melted into each other, both far out of sight from whoever would be so foolish to interrupt their long-awaited kiss.


	8. Cooking Lessons From The Chef

**Because there was no Rob/Star or BB/Rae last chapter, this one will be dedicated to everyone who missed those four Titans. This is in all honesty one of my favorite chapters so far and I hope you enjoy it too!**

* * *

The four Titans arrived at the tower later that day around ten o'clock. The air was clear, and there had been little to no problems with the weather, vehicle, or driving, and thus the trip was quick and easy. Jump hadn't suffered as horribly with the weather as the small house they'd taken refuge in the previous night had, and the only evidence of a storm were small piles of snow about the city. Upon arriving back at the house, a certain shape-shifter's first intent had been to go crash into his bed for a ten-hour nap, but Robin insisted that work came before play, or in this case, the nap. Beast Boy grudgingly obliged to the order, joining Raven, Starfire, and Robin in the ops room for a hopefully quick clean-up.

The ocean of pillows seemed to be even more vast than when they had left it, especially to the teenagers' tired eyes, but with insistent urging from Robin, they started to gather the pillows together. Starfire was paired with Robin, and the duo was working as efficiently as possible a weary couple of teenagers could. They moved the cushions in a comfortable silence, seeing as Beast Boy had left at the start for a "bathroom break" and Raven simply disappeared into her room with a few words to let her teammates know she'd be back in a few minutes. Robin would have been more irritated had it not been that he was spending some alone time with Starfire.

"Robin?" Starfire inquired, faintly straining her neck to keep her head above the rising mound of pillows.

Robin carefully placed a blue cushion in her arms, taking care to balance it perfectly so the stack wouldn't fall and he'd have another "hot potato" incident. "Yeah Star?"

"I enjoyed yesterday very much so, even if we were slightly chilled because of the weather," she stated with a gentle smile aimed in her leader's direction. Robin had to smirk at the word _slightly_.

"Well, seeing how Beast Boy kept complaining about the cold, I'd say it was a little more than _slightly chilled._ I consider us lucky that the snow is melting so quickly in Jump City." He and Starfire both chuckled. "But yeah, I had fun too," Robin agreed, giving her an affectionate grin in response.

Starfire's head was now all but buried beneath the tower of pillows piled in her arms; it was so high that Robin was unable to see her face, instead only a few strands of red hair sticking out from behind the cushions. A thought suddenly struck the leader, and he reddened just at the idea of what had crossed his mind. Yet Robin was not one lacking in courage, and, however unfamiliar the situation was to him, the Titan leader wasn't prepared to remain mute. Grateful that the beautiful girl could not see his embarrassment through the pillows -although she would probably hear it plain in his voice- Robin stammered, "U-uh, Star?"

Starfire indeed heard the reluctance in his words, and she took on an air of uncertainty to match his. "Yes Robin?"

"Are we… boyfriend and girlfriend?"

The question surprised Starfire so much that she dropped the pillows. They slipped through her arms, landing with soft thuds on the ground to reveal the astonished girl staring at her friend. Robin didn't even react to the undoing of all their hard work, instead merely stared back at her with scarlet cheeks. The silence pricked at Robin's skin, and he awkwardly cleared his throat, rubbing the back of neck. "Uh… F-forget I asked."

"But Robin…" Starfire's soft voice made the boy's breath catch in his throat. "I had hoped that, if we were not, we could be."

"R-really?"

Starfire nodded, the rosiness of her cheeks giving her a warm glow. Robin's shoulders dropped a little as if releasing the weight he carried from trapping the question within him, and the Titan leader suddenly swept the girl into his arms, heart pounding. Starfire returned the embrace as strong as he did, though taking care to keep her alien strength in mind. After a moment, the couple drew back from the affectionate hug that very well could signal the start to a hopefully long-lasting relationship. Robin smiled warmly at the alien princess, and she surprised him yet again when she tipped forward, landing a light kiss on his lips. Robin stayed still, slightly stunned but more-so just enjoying the tingle that remained on his lips when Starfire drew back. He was abruptly pulled from his daze when Starfire hit him on the side of the head with a pillow.

She laughed, airy and bright, and Robin had to snort with amusement. Snatching up a pillow of his own, the young leader slipped toward Starfire, the girl giving a playful yelp as he gently smacked the cushion against her arm. Somehow they ended up on the carpet, laughing and wrestling and hitting each other with pillows. They had paused to catch their breath when the main doors slid apart, revealing Raven and Beast Boy in the entrance. They both stopped walking and smirked.

"You know," Raven said with a shake of her head, "it doesn't look like you're being very efficient with your clean-up."

Beast Boy nodded. "Yeah dudes! I thought it was work before play, remember?" He ducked, grinning as Robin chucked a pillow at him.

The leader pointed at the younger boy. "Shut up and go take your nap," he commanded as, blushing, Starfire sat up on his lap. Beast Boy shrugged. He wasn't tired anymore, especially since his "bathroom break" –which had really been an attempt to sneak into his sleeping quarters for a snooze- was interrupted by a skeptical Raven on the way back from her room. The shape-shifter had faked innocence that even a blind man could see through, and then allowed Raven to lead him back to the ops room. Now that he was here, however, Beast Boy didn't feel much like taking a nap. Instead, he was rather hungry.

"Who's up for an early dinner?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at the nearby teenagers. As Robin and Starfire were somewhat caught up in each other's company at the moment, Raven was the only one to hear him. She crossed her arms.

"Are you suggesting that you are going to make something for the rest of us?" the empath questioned.

Beast Boy smiled widely at her. "If you're the alternative, then yeah. We all remember the disaster your pancakes were that one time you made breakfast."

"How could I forget when you keep reminding me about it?" Raven asked him, causing the green teenager to grin again. She turned away, preparing to exit to her room, and called back, "Just don't cook anything poisonous, okay?"

"Whoa, hang on, Rae," Beast Boy summoned, beckoning to her with a finger. Raven faced him, sighing as Beast Boy shook his head. "If I'm going to make something you like, you're gonna have to help me. It's only fair."

Finding no outright reason to deny his statement, Raven unfolded her arms and joined him in the kitchen. There were no pillows there luckily, for Robin and Starfire had started their clean-up from the stove on out. Beast Boy ducked beneath the counter, popping back up with an enormous cookbook in his hands. He threw it down beside the sink, glancing at Raven. "Okay-dokey, since this is the first time you're going to prepare something edible-," –Raven snorted at this-, "-you're gonna need to follow the rules of cooking. What's the first thing you do?" Beast Boy quizzed.

"Figure out what you're going to eat," Raven guessed. "I assume that would be the common sense answer," she added matter-of-a-factly.

"Well, yeah, but I meant after that." Beast Boy waved his hand, brushing off her response. He flipped through the cookbook as he spoke, stopping when he found what he was searching for. The teenager's attention focused back to Raven, and she realized he was awaiting an answer.

She blinked. "Ingredients?"

To her surprise, Beast Boy shook his head, pointing at her shamefully. "Wrong! Rule number one: Always wash your hands before you start anything with food!"

Raven hid a smirk as the shape-shifter twisted on the faucet's handle. "Oh, I meant after that." He stuck his tongue at her, and then poured an unnecessary amount of liquid soap into his palm. Raven drew beside him, taking a squirt of liquid soap and rubbing it on her hands. "So, what is it that you ha-?"

Beast Boy interrupted, running his hands through the water and scrubbing the soap until it foamed into a lather. "Chef."

"Excuse me?"

"Call me chef."

Raven looked at him incredulously. "I am not calling you chef." He pouted as the dark girl went on. "As I was saying, what is it you have planned for us to make? Sandwiches?" she assumed.

"Sandwiches?" Beast Boy scoffed, finally moving away from the sink to dry his hands. "What's the fun in that? You can't get messy!" Raven took his place, gasping softly at the cold water hit her skin, and she was quick to rinse her hands off.

"That's kind of my point," the empath uttered, shooting a glance in his direction. She didn't know why he had planned something messy -and therefore probably also complicated- to cook; they both knew how untalented she was in the kitchen.

Beast Boy was oblivious of her silent misgivings, and he spoke to Raven over his shoulder as he opened a few cabinets, drawing ingredients out. "I was thinking something more like rolls and a salad. Figured you wouldn't want tofu," he added, sliding a bag of flour across the counter at her. A small cloud of the white dust rose into the air at its movement, making Raven cough. "But it should be enough to fill us up. Unless you're _raven_ously hungry," he jested with a wink.

Raven groaned. How long had he been waiting to use that one? "Hopefully your cooking skills aren't as sour as your jokes."

"Well then." Beast Boy frowned, disappointed, and gestured to the collection of food items cluttered together next to the sink. "If you're so smart, how about you start without me?" Raven lifted an eyebrow at the challenge, and without hesitation, stepped up to the counter. Yet, her inexperience immediately showed when she mistook a ravioli recipe for the rolls one. Snickering, Beast Boy pointed out to her the correct page and recipe, and that was when the real hard part began. She looked at the laughing shape-shifter beside her.

"There are more than one kinds of flour?"

While Raven struggled to deal with the simple task of making dinner, Robin and Starfire decided that it was better to go out for a meal instead of stay inside and wait an hour or more for Raven and Beast Boy to start. Besides, Robin's stomach still did flips at the thought of Raven's bubbling pancakes however long ago they had come into existence. The Titan leader grimaced. Beast Boy had his hands full; hopefully when Robin and Starfire came back, the tower would have remained standing. With that ominous thought in mind, the two Titans left to head out into Jump City.

Beast Boy had taken pity on Raven, and together they had managed to get most of the ingredients into a bowl. If it was the correct measurements, on the other hand, was left to be questioned, as was the amount of spilt food on the counters. The two Titans were too preoccupied to notice the mess they were making.

"Wha-err-where's the whisk?" Raven called for, scanning the room.

Beast Boy was having much more fun than he should have been as he replied, "Do you even know what a whisk is?"

Raven shot him a look. "It doesn't matter as long as you get it for me." Holding his hands out innocently, the shape-shifter snatched up a large fork and offered it to the girl. Raven inspected the appliance a moment, glancing at Beast Boy to see if he was pulling her leg. When his expression offered no deception, the empath nodded. Beast Boy stifled a chuckle.

"That's not a whisk."

With a groan, Raven tossed the fork into the sink, and it clattered loudly. "Beast Boy…"

"Okay, okay, okay." This time a small utensil with coiled wires was placed in her hands, accompanied by the words, "I promise that this is actually a whisk."

"I don't even think I care anymore." Raven clumsily cracked an egg against the edge of the counter, grimacing as half of it slipped out of the shell and onto the floor, the other half sticking to her fingers. She shook her hand over the sink, flecks of white and yellow flying all over. That had been her third attempt at breaking an egg, and by far it was her most successful. They were still waiting for the first one to fall from the ceiling.

Beast Boy sighed, picking out an unbroken tofu egg from the carton. "How many times I gotta tell you? You tap it, not whack it!"

Raven shook her head. "Did you come up with that yourself?"

"Yes, in fact, I did!" the shape-shifter declared rather proudly. "Okay, try it again." Hiding her reluctance, Raven grabbed another egg, holding it delicately this time. She never thought she'd see the day when she looked to Beast Boy for guidance on how to do something. Then again, she never thought she'd see the day when she'd be cooking on her own accord. Again. Beast Boy knocked his egg on the counter, and a nice clean crack fractured the side. Pulling the shell apart, he was able to extract the yoke from within and get it into the bowl without too much of a mess. Slowly, Raven followed his example, and this time she managed to keep the egg from spilling onto the floor or into her hand.

"There you go!" Beast Boy applauded as she succeeded in getting the egg in the bowl. "Alright, just one more." Raven grumbled something beneath her breath about why she was even doing this when suddenly a streak of yellow and white plummeted from the ceiling into the bowl, splattering some the contents onto the girl. Beast Boy burst out laughing, and Raven just looked at him.

"Well, there's your egg."

This made Beast Boy laugh harder, and even Raven had to smile slightly. Eventually the shape-shifter calmed down enough to suppress his laugh into a quiet chuckle, and, wiping a tear from his eye, turned to the cookbook. "Alright then, what's next?"

Raven blinked. "Are you serious?"

Beast Boy scanned the page, tracing a finger under the words. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"But that just fell from the ceiling. You want to eat it?"

He smirked, glancing at Raven. "Would you rather it have come from the floor? We don't walk on the ceiling."

Keeping in mind to never eat anything Beast Boy cooked ever again, Raven rubbed her cheek and asked tiredly. "Please just tell me what's next."

Beast Boy clapped his hands together, a puff of flour rising in the air from the action. "Good news; you're almost done. The next part is easy." He pointed to the whisk. "See that thing? You just gotta use it to mix up all that stuff we put in the bowl."

Raven glared at the dish doubtfully. "It _should_ be easy. Let's find out," she muttered to herself, placing the whisk inside and slowly stirring. The empath realized that Beast Boy was hovered over her shoulder, watching her movements with a critical eye. As if things weren't difficult enough already. Raven tried distracting him. "So when exactly did you learn how to cook?"

Her teammate's attention wasn't very difficult to divert. He tapped his finger on his chin thoughtfully, leaving behind a white smudge of flour. "Well, since Cyborg never cooks my tofu stuff 'cause it's 'inedible', I always have to make myself dinner. I kinda ended up getting the hang of it after a while. But don't tell Star I can cook," he added hastily. "She'll want lessons or something." Raven smirked, and Beast Boy's sights fell to her hands. "You know you're doing it wrong."

The dark girl grumbled, holding the whisk out to him. Expertly, Beast Boy began beating the mix at a faster, more controlled pace. "It can't be too slow or you'll never get done. Like this." He demonstrated to Raven a moment or two more before giving the beater back to her. She struggled to copy his earlier movements, but to her dismay she only succeeded in spilling liquid on her arm. "Come on, Rae, it's not that hard," Beast Boy encouraged, stepping behind her. He grasped her hand in his, gripping the handle and showing her how to hold the whisk correctly. Raven immediately stiffened at the contact. Ever since that one moment at the small house, she and Beast Boy had acted normal around one another, yet Raven was certain that something like that could only change things between them. It was just a matter of time. The young shape-shifter, however, had given no impression that he thought like that, but then again, neither had Raven.

His other hand rested on her arm, causing the empath to start suddenly at the unexpected touch. Beast Boy's palm gently moved over her shoulder, murmuring in her ear as he did, "Just relax, Raven. You'll find it's easier." Raven inaudibly took a deep breath, forcing her body to loosen up. Beast Boy's hand guided her own, rapidly whisking the ingredients in the bowl together, but the girl was barely conscious of her doing so. Concentrating on the shape-shifter's words, Raven started to feel her shoulders really ease up, and her focus settled on Beast Boy's warm hand that was moving unperceptively down her arm. His body was the nearest it had been to hers since the house, and Raven fought to control the impulse to blush once more.

"Ta-da!" Beast Boy abruptly grinned, his canine tooth catching the light as he gazed down at the finished product of their whisking. "Look at that, it's beautiful!" Raven dragged her eyes to the blend of ingredients in front of them, now stuck together into a doughy paste. Beast Boy released his hold on her, and Raven suppressed a shudder. The shape-shifter approached the cookbook, calling to his teammate, "Alright, so now we get it into the oven."

"Maybe you should do that," Raven suggested, shivering at the thought of her and the oven clashing forces. Beast Boy seemed to agree, and after he and the empath had moved the dough over to the pan and put on the final touches, the green teenager lowered it into the stove. Raven gave an exhausted sigh. "Thank goodness that's over with."

Beast Boy's next words only succeeded in crushing her hopes into the ground. "Not necessarily. We still gotta make the salad while we wait for the rolls. It's really easy!" he guaranteed, seeing Raven's dangerous glare. "There's no cooking involved or anything! You can even use your hands if you want. Although-."

"Yes, yes, wash your hands first," Raven finished for him, rolling her eyes and twisting on the tap.

Beast Boy grinned. "You're learning."

The salad was indeed easier to make; much easier actually. It just took five minutes, and the only spilt food was a small tomato that Beast Boy tossed in the garbage. Soon enough, Raven was done, and she stood beside Beast Boy in the messy kitchen dripping with food everywhere. She sighed, glancing around. The food paired with the pillows was just adding up to be a wonderful jumble of untidiness. "This is a mess. We really need to reconsider hiring a maid for the tower."

"Pft," Beast Boy waved his hand, accidentally spraying the empath with dough stuck to his fingers. "But it was fun, right?"

"Never again," Raven replied, trying to hide her smirk. "I'll leave the cooking to you and Cyborg next time."

Beast Boy chuckled, scanning over her and then his own body with his eyes. He shook his head. "Ah, you know what? We should have worn aprons."

"Somehow I doubt it would have made much of a difference," Raven replied, wiping her hands on her legs and then immediately regretting it when egg stuck to her skin. "Ugh, I need a shower."

Nodding at her, Beast Boy agreed. "Yeah, me too. How about you go first and I'll try to clean up your mess?" Raven snorted, but obliged to his suggestion, all too ready to go get the eggshell remains and flour out of her hair.

Fifteen to twenty minutes later, Raven emerged from the bathroom, hair wet and completely free of any food remnants. She entered the main room in a new outfit identical to her previous one, save that it was not stained with eggs and flour. The empath walked in, stopping with surprise at the sight that met her. Beast Boy had somehow managed to wipe off any trace of their cooking fiasco from the face of the earth. Granted there was still the occasional stain on the floor or on the counter or behind the refrigerator, but at a quick glance one could barely see it and Silkie would eventually lick the food off anyway. At the table nearby, two dinner plates were set up on opposite sides, awaiting food to be placed upon them. The small salad was there as well, but Beast Boy himself was nowhere to be found, presumably using the other shower in the building.

A loud bell from the stove went off, making Raven jump with surprise. It rang again, and the empath realized that the rolls were probably done. She bit her lip, glancing at the door. When Beast Boy didn't show up, the girl sighed and approached the oven, opening it cautiously. The alarm shut off as she reached inside, grasping the edge of the pan with her bare hands, only to let out a small whimper as the heated metal stung her fingers. Grumbling at her carelessness, Raven stuck her burnt fingers in her mouth for a moment until the prickling faded. Spotting a pair of oven mitts nearby, the empath pulled them on, this time being slower to grab the pan. When no unexpected pain bit at her hands, she withdrew the rolls from the oven and placed them on the top of the stove. Behind her, the sound of the doors sliding apart reached Raven's ears.

"Dude, something smells good!" Beast Boy strolled in, his nose breathing in the air. He spotted Raven by the stove. "Hey, you got the rolls out without my help! Nice!" Raven nodded, "forgetting" to mention her slightly scorched fingers that resulted from her actions. Beast Boy walked over to the empath, hitting a button on the stove. His eyes shifted first to the oven mittens lying on the counter and then to her hands, and Raven couldn't believe that he knew she must have hurt herself. He didn't say anything to address it though, instead letting a smile stretch over his face. "Okay then, time to eat!"

Raven glanced at the clock. It was ten minutes to one o'clock. "Isn't it a little early for supper?"

"Yeah for supper, but not for… lupper!"

Raven looked at him. "What?"

"Lunch and supper." Beast Boy shrugged, throwing the rolls into a miniature basket. "Kinda like brunch, except later in the day." Raven rolled her eyes as Beast Boy handed her the basket, and they advanced in the direction of the small setup at the table. The two sat down across from one another, Raven placing the basket in between them. "I guess we're here to eat all by ourselves," Beast Boy said aloud, grabbing a roll and some butter.

Raven realized that Robin and Starfire must have long since left, and the empath quirked an eyebrow. "Good; I don't know who else would want to eat this after seeing what we've done to it."

Beast Boy pointed at the bowl next to the dark teenager. "Wanna pass me the salad, Rae?"

"Please," Raven said, not looking up from her plate.

"Huh?" It took Beast Boy a minute to realize what she was saying. "Oh, right. _Please_ give me the salad."

"Please what?"

This made the shape-shifter do a double take, and he scratched his head. "Please wha-?" Understanding dawned on him. "Oh, I am _not_ calling you chef, Rae! You so did not earn the title!" Raven hid a small chuckle and handed him the salad, taking a bite out of one of her rolls at the same time, and then wrinkled her nose at the taste. Beast Boy glanced up. "What?"

"This tastes horrible," she replied, dropping the bread on her plate like it was poisoned.

"No, can't be." Beast Boy tested his roll, and a similar expression crossed his face. "Okay, yep it does. But that's why we've got the salad." In the kitchen, a bell rang. "Annnd these." He hopped to his feet, scurrying over to the oven and pulling out another collection of rolls from a different level than Raven's had been on. Raven stared at him as he came back to the table with the steaming food.

"You did not have faith in me," she accused, crossing her arms.

"Well, can you blame me after what you made?" Beast Boy asked, grinning as he grabbed several of his own rolls. When Raven glared at him stubbornly, he added, "But you can always stick with eating your stuff though; I don't have to share."

Raven stared at the food, her stomach complaining loudly as she took in the warm aroma that filled the air. She frowned. "Just give me one."

Beast Boy wiggled his eyebrows. "Please."

"Please give me one," Raven sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Please what?"

Unable to believe what she was doing, Raven complied, saying, "Please chef give me a roll before I throw you through the window."

"Good enough." Beast Boy slid his basket across the table to her, and Raven dug in. His meal was considerably better than hers, and Raven grudgingly accepted the fact that he was far more talented at cooking than she was. Still, he _had_ helped her make her first edible meal, however bad it might have tasted. At least the salad wasn't a disaster.

The meal went by quickly, seeing how Beast Boy ate like the male teenager that he was and Raven was _raven_ously hungry –that joke wouldn't leave her for a long time-, and soon they had cleared the table of all edible food. Beast Boy let loose a loud burp, patting his stomach contently. He was surprised when Raven hardly batted an eyelash. Upon reflection, the shape-shifter realized that his teammate had hardly commented on his supposedly annoying little habits throughout their cooking lesson. "You know, Rae, I'm kinda surprised that you haven't been complaining about hanging out with me."

Raven sipped from her glass of water. "I enjoy your company at times. And I did have fun today, despite the mess we made."

Beast Boy grinned at her words, and then tilted his head slightly, scratching his ear. "I've always enjoyed hanging out with you," he confessed, and Raven ignored the increase of her heartbeat's pace. "We should do it more, right?"

A delicate smile blossomed on her lips. "That would be nice." She set down her glass. "And I have to admit, you're quite the… chef."

"A _master_ chef," Beast Boy suggested, leaning toward her and grinning. It was rare he got to see Raven smile, and he cherished it whenever her lips curved upwards, even more so when he was the cause.

Raven rolled her eyes. "Don't push it."

* * *

**A few weeks ago, I had to cook six dozen cookies for a school activity; while I am not as bad as Raven by far, I do have very little cooking talent. In fact, I don't just have _little_ cooking talent; I have none. Thankfully, I did learn two things: Don't plan to the last day to do it or you will be up until eleven or later cooking, and frosting can make anything taste good! ****Raven still beats me when it comes to worst chef ever though. I never did manage to get an egg to stick to the ceiling.**


	9. You Gotta Just Dance

"Yo Sparky! How's the plumbing going?"

Cyborg started, smacking the back of his head against the table above him. With a pained groan, the teenager crawled out from under the desk where he was configuring with several wires hanging below the broken computer, and turned around, laying eyes on the leader of the Titans East. Bumblebee smiled at him, tilting her head to the side in question. It had been about three days since the robotic teenager had arrived in the Titans East Tower, and thus far he had made pretty good progress in fixing the mess that the smaller team had caused.

Cyborg rubbed his head, the ache fading from his skull. "Well, first of all it's not plumbin'. Plumbin ' to do with drainage and water systems, and what I'm dealin' with is electronics. Secondly," he said, lowering his hand to massage his shoulder, "it's goin' pretty well."

"Great!" Bumblebee crossed her arms. "Not getting too tired sleeping in our spare bedroom, right? I know it can't be the best thing being right next to Speedy's place; I'm pretty sure he snores," she added in a whisper. Cyborg smirked all-too-knowingly, and leaned back against the table.

"So what's up, Bee?" he inquired, knowing the girl was sure to have another reason for her interruption.

As suspected, Bumblebee gave him a wide smile. "Well, it seems like you deserve a bit of a break from helping us out so much, at least in my opinion." She unfolded her arms curiously. "So… I decided to throw a bit of a party tomorrow. We're inviting anyone who feels like showing up. But its girls invite boys unless you can't find a date." Lifting an eyebrow, the tall girl smirked at him. "Feel like being escorted?"

The robotic teenager feigned surprise, pointing a finger at his chest. "Me? I thought you would want to go with Speedy!" Bumblebee shot him a glare; they both knew how Speedy could get on her nerves at times. Most times, if she was to be honest. Tapping his chin, Cyborg actually considered the offer. "Hm… As long as I don't have to wear a tux. _And_ get to lead in the dancin'," he decided with a smirk. Bumblebee returned the grin.

"You can try, Sparks, but I might end up doing it anyway." Her wings vibrated, and she lifted into the air with a buzz. "Oh, and don't worry about dressing up. We're having a party, not a ball." Cyborg chuckled and then knelt down beside the computer to continue in his work.

Bumblebee, hardly able to believe her plan had been successful, flew over to the phone. Snatching up the phonebook, she flipped through their list of contacts until landing on the first name. Normally the leader of the Titans East would call through her communicator, but who knew what eavesdropping Titan might pick up on her conversation if that thing was used, so Bumblebee settled with a good old-fashioned phone. She was just about to punch in the number when a gust of wind signaled Más and Menos's arrival.

"Hola Bumblebee!" they greeted together. Más climbed on his brother's shoulders to peer at the book in front of their leader while Menos asked, "Did I hear something about a fiesta?!"

"You'd better believe it!" Bumblebee tapped the needed numbers into the phone. "And it's girls ask guys, but if you maybe drop a hint to that certain someone, then maybe…" She trailed off, leaving the rest of the sentence to the kids' imaginations. Más and Menos exchanged glances, both of their eyes lighting up as they simultaneously thought of their preferred date. As they sped off, Bumblebee called to them, "And tell Aqualad and Speedy about it when you get the chance!" She held the phone up to her ear, grinning as it started to ring. Both of her and Robin's teams knew about the twins' crushes on Starfire, especially since they weren't very good at hiding it, and it was only a matter of time before the duo arrived at the Titan's doorstep to ask the alien princess to accompany them to the party. It was a good thing then that Bumblebee was calling their tower first.

Robin was the one to pick up the phone, and his tone was slightly confused as he asked, "Hello?" It was clear that no one used their landline much anymore.

"Hey, hot shot," Bumblebee greeted, leaning on the counter and tapping the surface with her finger. "Your team busy tomorrow?"

Robin still sounded puzzled, but he answered easily enough. "Not as far as I am aware. Why are you calling, Bumblebee? And on the landline? Is something wrong? Did something happen to Cyborg?"

"Just felt like mixing things up," Bumblebee replied unhelpfully, smirking at the perplexed silence on the other end. "And Sparky's just fine. Say, you wanna get Raven on the phone for me? That'd be great."

"Uh, sure." Bumblebee waited, hearing Robin request for Raven to come to the phone. "Alright, she's coming." In the background, a doorbell was heard.

Bumblebee spoke up quickly before Robin could give the telephone to his teammate. "Oh, Rob? Is Starfire over there?"

"Yeah, she's going to answer the door right now."

"Well, I think she might have two suitors come to ask her to a party," the leader of the Titans East said vaguely. "I'd go claim her before they do." Bumblebee laughed at the hurried fumbling of Robin shoving the phone into Raven's hands, and his footsteps were audible through the speakers. Silence followed, and then Raven's impassive voice filled Bumblebee's ear.

"What did you do this time, Bumblebee? Robin just took off sprinting toward our front door."

Bumblebee gave a sad groan. "Aw, wish I had been there to see that." Raven's patient silence made the taller girl give in. "But alright, alright. I was just saving him his date for tomorrow's party. He'll thank me later."

In the Titans Tower, Raven peered in the direction of the door where Spanish could be heard echoing up from the entrance. By the couch, Beast Boy paused his video game and started to laugh his head off. Seeing as he was one of the only Titans who knew the basis of Spanish, Raven assumed that Más and Menos must have said something big. The dots connected, and Raven rolled her eyes, accusing the speaker on the other end of the phone. "Did you really do what I think you did?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Bumblebee lied, effortlessly jumping up so she was sitting on her counter. "But hey, I'm glad I caught you. You'll get first dibs this way."

"What are you talking about?"

"Well," Bumblebee cast a glance over her shoulder to watch for any snooping eavesdroppers. When none were seen, she lowered her voice anyway and spoke into the phone. "It's all part of my plan that I'm making to complete our little deal. Sparky has been focusing completely on fixing our tower, so to distract him a bit I'm throwin' a party. _And _it's girls ask boys. I figure this way I'll help you and Star with your men too. Normal clothes though; no formal wear."

Raven sighed, rubbing one of her eyes tiredly. "This sounds more like meddling than help to me." The memory of Starfire talking about Cyborg's confession to liking Bumblebee flashed through her mind, but Raven ignored it. Bumblebee had come up with the idea of the deal, and now she could find a way to handle it by herself, which it seemed like she was doing anyway by the looks of it.

"Whatever, girl. My point is, ask Beast Boy to the party _now_ before anyone else does. If you don't I might have to send over someone else for incentive."

The empath grimaced, glancing at the green shape-shifter on the couch. "Those things don't really hold much interest for me. If you had suggested a book club or something…"

"Oh goodness, Raven! You have got to be kidding!" Bumblebee cried. "Do it now or put him on the phone with me! I'll do it _for_ you!"

That was not about to happen. "What about you?" Raven questioned, resting her hand on her arm holding the phone. "You asked Cyborg yet? Please tell me you didn't force this on him."

Unknowing to Raven, Bumblebee shook her head. "Naw, he was all for it."

"But you said earlier that not much had happened," the empath prompted.

"Yet," Bumblebee finished for her. She swung her feet back and forth on the counter. "But it will. All part of the plan." In truth, Bumblebee was making her plan up as she went. It appeared to be heading in the right direction though, so that was good. "Enough 'bout me though. How's your side going, girl?" she asked.

Again Raven looked at Beast Boy for a moment. In the background, the voices by the door had quieted and lessened, signaling Robin, Starfire, and their visitors were preparing to wrap up. "Further than you it seems," the dark girl guessed.

Bumblebee snorted. "But heck, that could be anywhere, girl. Give me a hint or something!"

As if Raven was going to tell anyone about what had happened. She wasn't even sure herself what had occurred. "My guess is as good as yours."

"Pfft, as if."

The main doors slid apart, and Robin and Starfire entered together, hands entwined. The only good thing that Raven had seen from this little agreement she and the others had made was Robin and Starfire seemed to have grown closer together, though that could be just coincidence. Bumblebee's voice filled her ear again. "Any word on Jinx's progress?"

"Haven't spoken to her."

"Hm." Bumblebee paused. "Well, I'll make sure to ask for an update when I call. Now, you get on asking Beast Boy to the party, or I'll come over there!" she threatened unconvincingly.

"Right." Raven hung up the phone.

"What was that all about?" Robin asked, escorting Starfire into the room as Raven turned away from the small machine. He glanced at his girlfriend, hand still in hers almost protectively. Beast Boy halted in his video game playing again, focusing in confusion on the red and white streak that flashed over the ocean below. Shrugging, the shape-shifter joined the group in the kitchen.

Raven sighed, clearing her throat. "Bumblebee has decided to throw a party for no apparent reason." At this, Starfire exchanged a swift glance with her darker teammate. "It's everyday dress," Raven continued, "and she insists we all come. She also mentioned something about girls ask guys," the girl finished emotionlessly.

"So _that's_ what that was about," Robin realized, placing a hand on his head as he thought back to the unexpected visit from the two Spanish brothers minutes ago. Starfire took a moment longer than her boyfriend to figure it out, but when she did, the alien princess was unable to hide the soft giggle that slipped out.

"Dude, a party?!" Beast Boy exclaimed, grinning from ear to pointy ear. He pumped a fist in the air. "I haven't been to a party in forever!" Raven rolled her eyes as Robin chuckled. The leader of the Titans faced Starfire, murmuring a few words in her ear. The alien princess smiled, nodding. Raven drifted over to the couch with Beast Boy to give the couple privacy.

Starfire grasped Robin's hands softly. "Robin, while I suppose that it might be 'assumed' we will be doing the accompanying of one another to the party, I would like to ask you to be certain." The girl blushed. "Would you be my 'date' to the party, Robin?"

"Of course, Star." Robin touched her cheek. "I wouldn't dream of going with anyone else." Starfire laughed lightly, giving her boyfriend a warm hug that was returned in full.

Over by the couch, Beast Boy watched the conversation out of the corner of his eye with a bright smile as he popped a new game into his system. Catching Raven's gaze, he waved the cover of his game at her. Raven groaned quietly. Beast Boy was playing Just Dance 7. How perfect. The game choice was enough to make her sick.

"Gotta get in my practice for the party," the green boy chuckled, dropping onto the sofa next to Raven while he waited for the screen to load. One of his arms managed to sneak its way around her shoulders, and Raven shuddered at the physical contact, mentally repeating her mantra. Beast Boy was a touchy person, she had to remind herself. "So Rae," he asked, looking at her with a grin, "it's girls ask guys, right? Got any lucky dude in mind?"

Raven's head screamed the answer, but the empath's expression remained impassive if not a little uncomfortable. It was hard not to pry into Beast Boy's mind and sense the emotions that were locked inside. To probe just barely below the surface would be so easy, but luckily Raven excelled at self-restraint. To do so was an invasion of privacy above all; it wasn't fair to look inside someone else for selfish purposes. Besides, if Raven didn't find what she was searching for, it would hurt. A lot.

So it was that all she said was, "I don't know if lucky would be the right word. You on the other hand…"

Beast Boy's interest was piqued, and he faced Raven straight on. "What about me?"

Raven shook her head. "What girl wouldn't want to go to a party with you? That green hair, pointy ears, and especially those dance moves?" She rolled her eyes sarcastically. "You're a dream boat."

"I am, aren't I?" Beast Boy leaned back against the couch, his arm yet around the empath. He hardly seemed to know it was there. A small smile turned up the corners of his mouth. "So you gonna go with me?"

Out of fear that the shape-shifter's ears would pick up the sound, Raven took in a deep breath, and the pounding in her chest calmed. "I never said that."

"But you _did_ say that any girl would be lucky to go with me," Beast Boy reminded, his canine tooth catching the light. He leaned toward her. "Why not me?"

Was _he_ asking her to go with him? Raven lowered her head so she was looking at her knees. "I've never been very lucky when it comes to certain things," she murmured. Beast Boy's bright smile faded, and his arm retreated back to his side.

"But… Come on, Raven," he insisted in a soft tone, touching her hand briefly. Once more the girl's heart picked up speed, and this time Beast Boy's eyes flickered to her chest, ears twitching. The shape-shifter looked up at her again, a smile reappearing on his face. "Sometimes you just gotta make your own luck."

Raven stared at him, realizing how close Beast Boy had gotten to her. How he managed to constantly invade her personal space without her notice was a mystery to the dark girl.

Tilting her head, Raven asked curiously, "Beast Boy, do you want to go to Bumblebee's party with me?"

"I thought you'd never ask!" Beast Boy jumped to his feet, grinning wildly. Before Raven could comment -or wonder what had just happened- the green teenager faced the television, hitting a button on his controller. _Just Dance 7 _flashed onto the screen with an earsplitting blast of music. Raven fought the urge to cover her ears.

"It is extremely unlikely that I will be dancing at this party," she declared firmly over the music.

Beast Boy's eyebrow quirked at her as he turned down the volume a little and chose his preferred song. "That's what you say now-."

"And will continue to say," Raven interrupted, crossing her arms.

Beast Boy continued without acknowledging her statement, "-but once you see my wicked skills on the dance floor, you'll change your mind."

"That seems dreadfully unlikely as well," Raven retorted, folding her legs over one another, but before she knew what was happening, two hands grabbed hers, pulling the dark girl from her seated position up to Beast Boy.

The boy snickered good-humoredly at her expression. "Come on, Rae! It's not that hard!" He smirked knowingly. "Or are you scared?" Beast Boy challenged.

"I am not scared," Raven blurted out, the words spilling from her mouth before she could think them through. Certainly she was not a party-goer and especially not a dancer, but above all she was not scared.  
"Then you won't have a problem dancing to this song!" Beast Boy concluded, gesturing toward the game station. The READY? sign was blinking on the screen. Paling, Raven pushed him back and stepped away, shaking her head. Beast Boy pouted for a moment until his sights zoomed in on the couple behind the couch, both Titans pretending not to watch the exchange. "Star!" he summoned, pointing at the girl and pulling her in his direction with his finger. The alien princess curiously rose from the kitchen table, obeying, and joined Beast Boy. Robin followed her, coming to a stand-still beside Raven. The two serious teenagers were in identical positions, both with crossed arms and unsure expressions.

Beast Boy nodded at the television. "You know how to do it, right?" he asked, pressing enter on his controller. Tapping her lips, Starfire nodded. "Great! Then go for it!" He pulled Starfire up next to him in front of the screen as the music started. Raven vaguely noted that he had set the rules for multiplayer; the mischievous green imp must have been preparing for this, she realized. Beast Boy, having played the game before, immediately jumped in, stomping and clapping where necessary in time to the music. It wasn't too long before Starfire caught on, and soon enough the two were in synch with their motions. Next to the sofa, Raven and Robin fought similar feelings of isolation together, both happy that their friends were enjoying themselves but at the same time wishing it was they in the other's place. These emotions lasted only a brief time though, dispelled when Beast Boy, glancing over his shoulder, lifted his eyebrows at Robin.

"What do you think you're doing, dude?" he called in between tiring breaths. "Get on over here before we do the couple part!" Robin blinked, absorbing the words into his head before a smirk took the place of the confused expression on his face. Drawing alongside the green teenager, Beast Boy nodded to Robin, said something to Starfire, and then he and his leader switched places with a bound. It was just in time, for within the next five seconds the two dancers turned toward each other and joined hands. As Robin and Starfire danced together to the quick beat, Beast Boy leaned forward on his knees, catching his breath. Raven lifted an eyebrow.

"You planned this, didn't you?" she accused.

Beast Boy's eyes widened innocently. "What? Me? Little old me?" Frowning, Raven shot him one of her famous glares, and the green teenager grinned. "Yeah, I did." A change in the music reached their ears, and Beast Boy's head perked up, the partner part having finished. He jumped over to Starfire, and, with a twirl, they switched places. Starfire was breathing heavily as well, if not as much as Beast Boy had been.

Setting a long scarlet strand of hair behind her ear, the alien princess turned her sights to Raven. "Oh, friend Raven, it is most exhilarating! You must give it a try!"

"Pass," Raven muttered, watching with amusement as Robin tried to follow Beast Boy's practiced movements. It wasn't often one saw Beast Boy besting Robin at something. Sure the leader spent countless hours on the training course and was a professional at detective work and catching vicious criminals, but this was Beast Boy's area of expertise. In Raven's observation, she happened to catch Beast Boy's eye, and, grinning, he winked at her. As if the action was a signal –which it was- Starfire "nudged" Raven from behind, sending the empath stumbling into the middle of the game. Robin hopped out of the way, exchanging a drained but ecstatic glance with his girlfriend.

Left stranded in unfamiliar territory, Raven froze, staring at the screen like a deer in the headlights. The red words MISS flashed at her several times, and the empath's heart sped up uncertainly. She had stood petrified for barely a few seconds, however, when Beast Boy grabbed her by the arm and spun her around. A green light blinked at Raven from the television. The empath looked at Beast Boy, drenched and covered in sweat but grinning from ear to pointy ear. "Give it a try, Rae!" he urged. "You're already here!"

With Beast Boy's direction, Raven slowly started to match her actions with those in the game. Before long, her clumsy movements were good enough to get her a few higher scores instead of complete misses. The empath had soon used up such a good amount of energy that she didn't even mind when Beast Boy snatched her hands once more in his, proceeding to spin her in a circle again and finish with a dip. The theoretical graceful ending was almost destroyed when the exhausted shape-shifter just about lost his grip on Raven and nearly dropped her. The two drew apart quickly, flushed.

Robin and Starfire were still inhaling labored breaths, though it was much less than Raven and Beast Boy's. The spikey-haired leader massaged his neck and then stretched out his arms to the side. "Who needs training courses, dude?" Beast Boy gasped at Robin with a smirk. "We've got video games!"

Robin shook his head, still smiling, and lowered his arms from above his head. "I do have to admit that was really fun, Beast Boy; I had no idea you possessed such talent." He glanced at the faucet nearby, and, with an obvious objective in mind, walked toward the sink with Starfire at his heels. The alien princess only paused to give her darker friend a bright smile before following Robin to get a drink of cool water. Raven and Beast Boy trailed them at a slower pace, still catching their breath.

Beast Boy couldn't help it. "You know, Rae, I can't believe I got you to play a video game with me. And it was a _dancing_ video game of all things."

"It's not as if I had much of a choice in the matter seeing how you set me up," Raven countered, wiping the traces of sweat from her face. She honestly couldn't remember the last time she'd used up so much energy. Not even fighting villains like The Hive or Cinderblock was that draining. Raven had to admit that Beast Boy was quite impressive, not with his dance moves but his ability to have such endurance.

"So," Beast Boy said, shifting his eyes back to the dark girl, "does this mean you'll dance at the party?"

Raven returned the look with an impassive expression of her own. "It's still very highly unlikely."

* * *

**Just so you know, I have never in my life played a Just Dance game. I had no idea for how it's supposed to go, so I set it up as Just Dance 7 because that hasn't come out yet. By the time it comes out, maybe the game has changed a bit. Why not?**


End file.
